Writer, Photographer, Adventurer
Protecting 32,733 acres on the windward slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawaiʻi Island, Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1985 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service with the support of The Nature Conservancy. It became the first national wildlife refuge to encompass rainforest as well as the first to be set aside for native forest birds, and it’s the only place in the state where native bird populations are stable or increasing. Want to learn more? Read my story for Sierra.
While many travelers to Hawaiʻi island flock to the western coast’s array of resorts, shops, and restaurants, there’s a good argument to be made for a vacation home base in the Hāmākua Heritage Corridor that runs from Hilo to the Waipiʻo Valley Lookout—where crowds are minimal and your pace slows to island time. I loved making that argument for Condé Nast Traveler in this story, which includes thriving farms, neighborhood restaurants, and ways to get a closer look at native and endangered birds.
This article for the Saturday Evening Post looks at the new era of tourism in Hawaiʻi, which encourages tourists to leave the archipelago better than they found it.