A non-profit Friends Group supporting the three national wildlife refuges located on Kauaʻi.
Together, Friends can do so much…
Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges (FKWR) serves as a nonprofit “Friends Group,” supporting the environmental and wildlife conservation, historic preservation and community education programs of the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex, which are administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and includes Kīlauea Point NWR, Hanalei NWR and Hulēʻia NWR.
Our organization helps to fill in the gaps in the programs administered by the Refuge team by providing funding and Friends Group staffing to support a variety of refuge priorities. Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges also manages the Friends Nature Store and Visitor Center at Kīlauea Point NWR, supports environmental education programs, administers an annual scholarship, conducts community outreach and much more!
Current Events, News and Activities
Join Our Team
Position: Maintenance & Habitat Restoration Specialist
Join our team at the Kauaʻi National Wildlife Refuge Complex (NWRC) and help steward some of the most majestic and important habitat management sites on Kauai. This fulltime position is a key role within our ohana and will work alongside the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service team in planning, developing, prioritizing and implementing habitat restoration and management, and maintenance and infrastructure projects at Kīlauea Point NWR, Hanalei NWR and Hulēʻia NWR.
Although employed by Friends of Kauaʻi Wildlife Refuges, this position will be directly supervised by the Kauaʻi NWRC Deputy Refuge Manager. Click below to learn more.
“Mōlī of Kauaʻi – A rare treasure among us.”
Presented by:
Hob Osterlund
Our Princeville Moʻolelo free lecture series will continue on Tuesday, January 20th with the return of Hob Osterlund.
Hob is a wildlife enthusiast who knows a lot about mōlī! She founded the Kauaʻi Albatross Network and dedicates her time to the preservation, protection and celebration of our beloved mōlī, or Laysan albatross, along with the other endangered wildlife of Kauaʻi. Hob is an award-winning author, photographer, birding guide, Safina Center Fellow, guest lecturer and more. In this presentation, you’ll enjoy her amazing photos and delightful stories and learn how you can help protect this important iconic species.
Free Lecture: Tuesday, January 20th, 5:00-6:30pm
Princeville Community Center and on Zoom.
Hawaiian waterbirds are facing an extinction crisis.
It has recently been estimated that state-wide waterbird counts are falling at alarming rates. We need to act now to ensure that our refuges have the resources they need to support these critically endangered populations. Our partners at Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture recently published an info sheet detailing this crisis.
Ka Pae ʻĀina O Hawaiʻi Nei
“Ka Pae ʻĀina O Hawaiʻi Nei” is a culturally centered educational program and a community created mosaic mural that is being developed through a collaboration with the Garden Island Arts Council.
The place-based inspired mural is being developed through a series of community workshops, in which volunteers will help to create an 80-foot-long by 4-foot-high mosaic mural.
The mural will depict the topography of the entire Hawaiian Archipelago, helping us tell the geographic and cultural story of these islands and atolls, how the High Hawaiian Islands fit within this long history, and how these protected lands and waters serve as a refuge for a wide variety of native Hawaiian wildlife species.
The finished mural will be installed on the retaining wall that begins outside the Visitor Center at Kīlauea Point NWR.
Lighthouse Repairs due to Storm Damage
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has announced the start of a project for storm damage repairs to the Daniel K. Inouye Kīlauea Point Lighthouse (located on the refuge). Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), located at the northern-most point of the major Hawaiian islands and one of three refuges within the Kauaʻi NWR Complex, provides one of the most important seabird habitat sites in the State of Hawai‘i and is home to the iconic lighthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. The refuge also hosts nearly 500,000 visitors annually.
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