Conservation Science

The beetle, which is native to Asia, first infested the region in 2003 via a tree nursery shipment from Michigan, leading to widespread infestation reports in Charles, Howard, Anne Arundel, Washington and Garrett counties. Past efforts to eradicate the insect in Prince George’s County have led to the destruction of 27 square miles of trees, according to Gazette records.

Scientists around the world are studying global climate change and developing various scenarios regarding its potential impact. But the real action and impact will occur at the local level. This is what Switzer Fellows Lisa Micheli and Healy Hamilton are working on in a project they call At the Water's Edge.

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Editor's Note: Leslie's work with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is supported with a Leadership Grant from the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. Whales feeding on abundant krill are crowding the California coast in such unusual numbers that marine sanctuary officials are urging large ships to slow down as they approach San Francisco Bay. The "notice to mariners" was also broadcast Tuesday by the Coast Guard.

From Rafe: Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues,

Today the image of that Kona field system lives vividly in the imagination of Noa Kekuewa Lincoln. On a late afternoon at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona, Lincoln is striding among the forty-four different cultivars of ko that he helped replant the year before. The planting was done in the traditional Kona drylands style, with kuaiwi on one side of the ko and rows of kalo on the other. Lincoln pauses beside a particularly vibrant clump of cane that has green-andwhite- striped leaves and stalks with stripes of pink, white and pale green. It’s called laukona, he says.

Today the image of that Kona field system lives vividly in the imagination of Noa Kekuewa Lincoln. On a late afternoon at the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in South Kona, Lincoln is striding among the forty-four different cultivars of ko that he helped replant the year before. The planting was done in the traditional Kona drylands style, with kuaiwi on one side of the ko and rows of kalo on the other. Lincoln pauses beside a particularly vibrant clump of cane that has green-andwhite- striped leaves and stalks with stripes of pink, white and pale green.

"This is really pivotal research that will help us plan for mitigating the effects of climate change," said Amber Pairis, climate change adviser for the Department of Fish and Game. Pairis said the state agency is building similar lists for rare plant species, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. She said the study and guide provide a platform for allowing climate change to become part of conservation discussions and not treated as a separate topic or chapter.