American Bird Conservancy

Founded in 1994, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) envisions a future in which Hawaii’s birds are thriving and native habitats and ecosystems are being restored. ABC works across multiple fronts to restore native habitats, protect Hawaiian birds from invasive predators, better understand threats in order to develop new conservation strategies, and address the existential threat posed by avian malaria to Hawaiian forest birds.

Native Hawaiian forest birds are among the most endangered birds in the world, and the most imminent threat is avian disease spread by non-native mosquitoes. As global temperatures rise, mosquitoes are invading the last forested strongholds for the honeycreepers and are projected to eliminate suitable habitat for most species, leading to another wave of extinctions.

American Bird Conservancy is a leader in the Birds, Not Mosquitoes steering committee working on a solution to this conservation crisis that uses the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to protect these species on Maui, and across Hawaii. IIT uses a bacteria (Wolbachia) that functions as “mosquito birth control.” By releasing male mosquitos, which do not bite, with this bacteria, the wild population will be significantly suppressed, leading to protection for Hawaii’s birds. Throughout 2022, ABC increased its community outreach, engagement, and education efforts to build support among different communities and prepare for the various public hearings that are part of the regulatory approval process necessary to advance the project.

Cooke Foundation funds supported rapid assessment trips to detect changes in the Kiwikiu and Akohekohe distributions across their ranges, and documented distributions and changes in mosquito densities. The rapid assessment surveys and scouting and capture trips provided an index of the Kiwikiu population in the East Maui forests, and is critical for planning and prioritizing the management activities to save this species.

More About the American Bird Conservancy