Aina Koa Pono Aims for Locally Grown and Processed Biofuel
August 5–Both the Hawaii Business Journal and the Hawaii Reporter summarize the request Hawaii Electric Light Company made to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission to approve a new biofuel supply contract with Aina Koa Pono LLC which is building a processing plant in Kau on the Big Island. Last fall, PUV turned down the contract because of price and cost effectiveness.
For a full summary see Reporter, Duane Shimogawa’s article in the Business Journal. A rendering of the plant,  general description of the biomass crops and description of the technology can be found here at the Hawaii Reporter .
For readers wanting more in depth and contextual information,a relatively comprehensive summary can be found at Kau HawaiiÂ
Aina Koa Pono’s project overview is here.
International Sandalwood Symposium Features Outstanding Keynote Speaker
The International Sandalwood Symposium, being held at the East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu on October 21-24, 2012 will feature Keynote Speaker, Dr. Anantha Padmanabha.
With over forty years of experience in forestry in India, Dr. Padmanabha, an expert on sandalwood cell biology, has worked as a senior scientist at the  Institute of Wood Science and Technology in Bangalore, India, served as a Director of Karnataka Research Foundation and Advance Technology Transfer, Bangalore, and consulted to forestry companies and government agencies in Western Australia.
He has authored and co-authored books on sandalwood and published over 150 publications in journals both in India and Internationally. He was designated as Chief Technical Advisor for sandalwood projects with the World Bank Forestry Research Education and Extension Project with the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.
Honolulu Civil Beat Reports on New Hawaii Biodiesel Plant
July 6, 2012–The award winning Honolulu Civil Beat reports on Pacific Biodiesel unveiling its Big Island biodiesel plant–the first plant in Hawai’i capable of processing a range of plant products. Click here for Land Reporter Sophie Cocke’s article .
WAFWA Summer Conference July 20-25, 2012 Hawai’i Island
The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and the Division of Forestry & Wildlife Hawai’i (DOFAW) will hold their 2012 Conference at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hawai’i from July 20-25, 2012. Hosted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources and DOFAW. Optional activities include visits to Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and Pu’u Wa’awa’a Summit. Here’s the link..Â
Kaua’i Forest Bird Recovery Project
Kaua’i Forest Bird Recovery Project has a mission to promote knowledge, appreciation, and conservation of Kaua’i’s forest birds, the organization has three primary facets: research, management, and outreach.  Check it out…
They also have a Facebook page and, if you’re interested in what they’re doing, you can support them.
If you would like to find out more about the forests and forest industries of Hawai’i, here are a few sites and places to research, visit and discover–a growing list from Hawai’i Forest Tracks.
To get a broad view of the on-going bird extinction crisis–and targeted conservation work on this situation, see ABC’s Endangered Hawai’i, a 30 minute film narrated by Richard Chamberlain, produced by the American Bird Conservancy, and funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.