Eco-volunteers restore habitat on the last U.S. place to observe Earth Day
by Wayne Sentman
A chain of North Pacific islands positioned about 80 miles from the
International Date Line, Midway Atoll is the last place in the United
States to observe Earth Day.
Today a group of 16 Oceanic Society
eco-volunteers visiting this outpost of American territory are helping
the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) outplant 240 native
bunch grasses in an effort to restore habitat for the over 423,000
nesting pairs of Laysan albatross and other seabirds calling Midway
home.
The Midway Atoll NWR staff has weeded the area and is now ready to
transplant the native plants into the ground as a way to prevent the
invasive weeds from re-establishing.
Later in the day the
volunteers will continue monitoring "Turtle Beach," an area where many
green sea turtles have been coming out to bask. Numbers of baskers have
increased over the years as stronger protections have been put in place
to reduce human activity on the basking beach.
Currently the
volunteers are trying to figure out (by hourly counts and individual
identification) whether turtle numbers at Midway have actually
increased or if simply more turtles that have always been here are now
using the beach to bask.
Check this page again for updates on
the turtle count and other news from Wayne Sentman and the Oceanic
Society volunteers he leads this month on Midway.
All photos courtesy Wayne Sentman
Wayne Sentman,
a Master's candidate in Environmental Management at Harvard, is a field
biologist and experienced naturalist leading research and natural
history programs for the Oceanic Society.
He developed a love of island ecosystems while working for both the
National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in Hawaii and Alaska. Living at Midway Atoll for four years, he
became fascinated with the albatross populations of the Northwest
Hawaiian Islands. An avid lover of anything aquatic, Wayne spends his
time kayaking, diving, and snorkeling whenever possible.
