Funding to improve the conservation of Laysan Albatrosses on Kauai fits this year’s theme for World Albatross Day

A Laysan Albatross rests under a tree in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, photograph by the Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuge

Recent funding will help improve the conservation of Laysan Albatrosses Phoebastria immutabilis and other seabirds on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.  The planned work fits well with this year’s theme for World Albatross Day on 19 June of “Habitat Restoration”.

“The U.S. Navy and Friends of Kaua‘i Wildlife Refuges signed [in August 2025] a [US]$800k Cooperative Agreement under the Department of War (DOW) Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program.  This collaborative effort funds a multi-year project that is mutually beneficial to both the DOW and the Kaua‘i National Wildlife Refuge Complex.”

Habitat restoration work is already underway in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge with the removal of large stands of invasive Ironwood Casuarina equisetifolia trees within the Laysan Albatross colony, photograph by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

“The REPI funding will expand Pacific Missile Range Facility’s (PMRF) mōlī (Laysan albatross) egg swap program to improve fledgling survival and reduce nesting in unsafe locations; implement enhanced control of invasive predators to protect endangered birds; strengthen biosecurity protocols to keep invasive species out of nesting sites; reduce bird aircraft strike hazards on the Mana airfield at PMRF; remove invasive plants and restore native vegetation to create higher-quality nesting habitat; and monitor and repair fence lines at the Kaua‘i National Wildlife Refuge Complex to help protect native birds.

This collaborative effort will help ensure that federally listed and protected seabirds and waterbirds can thrive in protected habitats, while also benefiting the DOW by reducing Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) risks to Navy pilots.”

Read more here.

Read about placement of matting to deter plant growth against the predator-proof fence at the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge here.

John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 24 February 2026