HAKALAU FOREST NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE CELEBRATED ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY in combination with this year’s FIND YOUR WILD EVENT (previously WALK FOR THE WILD) on September 13, 2025. Five hundred participants attended this event, including volunteers and exhibitors. A fog blew in during the opening ceremonies, but it quickly lifted and a beautiful sunny day followed. Participants walked through the forest for up to 5 km with knowledgeable guides pointing out native birds and plants. At the turn-around point in the walk, University of Hawaii (UH) – Hiloʻs Listening Observatory for Hawaiian Ecosystems (LOHE) students provided stamps, hand puppets, and other educational items. 

To celebrate the Refugeʻs 40th Anniversary, shuttle vans and drivers from Hawaii Forest and Trail transported attendees from the Pua ʻĀkala area to administrative headquarters where tours of the newly renovated greenhouse were conducted. Bird banding was demonstrated and current research on native birds were explained at the University of Hawaiʻi Research station.

In addition to exhibits by Friends of Hakalau Forest and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, there were 10 other exhibitors at the Refuge. They included American Bird Conservancy, Big Island Invasive Species Council, Department of Forestry and Wildlifeʻs Snail Extinction Preservation Program, Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center, ʻImiloa Center, Terraformation Hawaiʻi, UH College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources (CTAHR) Rapid Ōhia Death, UH – Hiloʻs Elala Biodiversity Lab, and Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative. Attendees received free postcards featuring native snails, or a My Hawaiʻi Native Bird Checklist to take on their walk in the forest, as well as lots of other conservation information.

Everyone left with smiles. We hope you can join us in 2026. To be informed of the next Find Your Wild at Hakalau Forest NWR in 2026, you can sign up for our free newsletter.

Public Lands Alliance Partnership

Find Your Wild at the Hakalau Forest NWR was conducted in coordination with the Public Lands Alliance, an official nonprofit partner of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The initiative is dedicated to inspiring meaningful connections and private support for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Each year, more than 65 million people travel from near and far to explore, admire, and appreciate America’s more than 570 national wildlife refuges and the flora and fauna that inhabit them.