An introduction to the Plant Extinction Prevention Programs in Hawaii and Guam
The Guam Plant Extinction Prevention Program (GPEPP) is pleased to welcome a team from the Hawaii Plant Extinction Prevention Program (HPEPP) this weekend. The team will conduct a week-long training to help develop strategies to prevent Guam’s rare plants from going extinct. Guam is thankful for this unique training opportunity.
We would like to invite those interested to a presentation about the PEP Programs at the University of Guam, School of Business and Public Administration, Anthony Leon Guerrero, Room #129 on Thursday, June 12 from 3:30 PM until 5:00 PM.
Presently, Hawaii is home to 235 ‘PEP species’, which are species that have fewer than 50 plants remaining in the wild. The Hawaii PEP Program is a project of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit at the University of Hawaii and works collaboratively with landowners and government agencies statewide to protect Hawaii’s rarest plants. This training is funded by the US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Private and State Forestry Grant, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
About the GPEP program and its partners
The GPEP Program was initiated through a collaboration of the University of Guam, College of Natural and Applied Sciences and the Forestry & Soil Division of the Department of Agriculture with the Hawaii PEP Program. At the moment, the Guam PEP Program receives funding primarily from the U.S. Forest Service State-Private Stewardship grant. Guam PEP is pleased to announce their new partner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new funding will allow us to work on more PEP species.
GPEPP values public input and participation. We hope to share knowledge and find ways to protect our rarest plants in the Mariana Islands. We are also looking to develop local and regional partnerships that encourage shared responsibility for protected species management and recovery, which could help reduce the risk of extinction of many of these species. We welcome your participation.
About the Guam Rare Plant Restoration Group
The Guam Rare Plant Restoration Group is a group of Guam native plant specialists whose expertise is used to review program objectives, provide recommendations, and follow up with the GPEPP progress, and acts as GPEPP’s advisory committee.
About the GPEP mission
The GPEP Program is an island-wide program dedicated to preventing the extinction of Guam’s rarest plant species that have fewer than 200 individuals remaining in the wild by working with conservation partners to protect wild populations, preserve their genes off-site, and reintroduce plants to their natural habitat.
About GPEPP work
GPEPP wants to reverse the trend toward extinction by managing wild plants, collecting seeds and vegetative propagules and establishing new populations. At the moment, GPEPP is setting up a seed storage facility, a tissue culture lab, and rare plant nurseries.
About Håyun lågu, a PEP species
Serianthes nelsonii or Håyun lågu is one of the largest endemic trees in the Marianas but only one tree survives in Guam. Serianthes nelsonii is listed as Endangered on the Red Data List for Plants, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Endangered Species List, and the Guam Endangered Species List. At the moment, GPEPP is focusing its work on this species.
Contact
Else Demeulenaere, Guam Plant Extinction Prevention Coordinator
Office: 671-735-2129
Joan Yoshioka, Hawaii Plant Extinction Prevention Program Coordinator
Office:808-974-4388