3/17/26 – HAWAIIAN PLANTS IN FUNDING CONTEST TO COME “ROARING BACK”

HAWAIIAN PLANTS IN FUNDING CONTEST TO COME "ROARING BACK"

HONOLULU - While basketball fans prepare for March Madness, conservationists have their own competition planned for March. The Uproar Conservation Challenge, hosted by the Indianapolis Zoo, lets users vote for their favorite at-risk species, with the winner receiving $10,000 for conservation efforts. This year's contest includes two plant species found only in Hawaiʻi: ʻŌhiʻa and Kanaloa.

ʻŌhiʻa trees (Metrosideros polymorpha) are a foundational species in our native forests and are widely recognized as a symbol of Hawaiʻi. The species is under threat from the pathogen that causes Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, which has killed more than one hundred thousand acres of ʻŌhiʻa on Hawaiʻi Island. Though lesser known, Kanaloa (Kanaloa kahoolawensis) has an incredible comeback story. Once thought to be extinct and only found in historical pollen records, two plants were discovered in 1992 on a tiny islet off Kahoʻolawe. There are now around 20 Kanaloa in existence.

"Hawaiian species should absolutely dominate this competition," said Native Ecosystems Manager Emma Yuen, with the DLNR's Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). "Hawaiʻi has long been called the extinction capital of the world, and we have fought very hard to reverse that title. If anywhere in the world deserves to have its species come ʻroaring back' from the threat of extinction, it's Hawaiʻi."

Matt Keir, a botanist with DOFAW, added, "No offense to the Indiana sooty-spored freshwater fungus, but Hawaiian plants should have this in the bag."

Anyone can vote in the first round of the competition, which includes 64 plant, animal and fungal species from around the world. Voting occurs from March 16 through 19, at https://www.uproarchallenge.com. Subsequent rounds of voting begin on March 20, 24, 27 and 30.

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RESOURCES

(All images/video courtesy DLNR)

Voting: https://www.uproarchallenge.com

ʻŌhiʻa: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/forestry/plants/ohia-lehua/

Kanaloa: https://www.kapalupaluokanaloa.org/

Media Contact:

Ryan Aguilar

Communications Specialist

State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources

Phone: 808-587-0396

E-mail: [email protected]