Approximately 90 percent of all plant species native to Hawaii are found nowhere else in the world. Alarmingly, a third of them will likely be threatened with extinction in the next 10 years. Principal threats to Hawaii’s native species are feral pigs and goats, and exotic plants, which disturb native communities.

The National Tropical Botanical Garden’s Limahuli Garden and Preserve is a steep, 900-acre forested valley of great biological and cultural importance. The upper valley recently experienced an unprecedented influx of feral pigs, resulting in extensive damage. To keep the pigs out, the botanical garden needs a strong fence. It plans to build one spanning approximately 3.5 miles of rugged ridge-top terrain. This will enclose 400 acres of intact, highly diverse Hawaiian forest. Seacology is helping in the initial phase of the project by providing funding for helicopter transport of work crews and materials into this hard-to-reach area.