Sinkhole Pics

Hello everyone--sorry to be so long in posting anything. I did a trip to Kalalau, which was amazing (pics to follow soon) and then had a visitor, but I'm eager to start catching up here, especially since I recently realized that I'll be coming home soon. This picture, and the two that follow, are of the sinkhole where I've done some volunteer work.

The professors who are working here (coincidentally both from Fordham) have been doing core samples in the sinkhole, which was once a freshwater lake, and then using the findings to restore the area to the native vegetation as much as possible. As it turns out, his findings haven't necessarily matched the traditional understanding of what was here before humans. In general this approach to restoration has been controversial, but is becoming more accepted now.

In the core samples they have identified 40-43 species of indigenous birds, 16 of which are now extinct, and 7 of which were unknown before. They have also discovered 12 now-extinct snails, an endemic gull, an extinct honey creeper, a land crab, a bat, and a long-legged owl. He is also growing a kind of plant above the cave whose roots help nourish two endangered cave-dwelling species, which live there.

The caves were sacred burial grounds for the Hawaiians, and Dr. Burney has been in touch with the great-granddaughter of the last kahuna to be buried there, who owns the spiritual rights to the cave (though not the legal rights). She gave Dr. Burney permission to do his work on the land, which he is leasing from the current legal owner, provided that he limit traffic and not allow any kind of extraneous spiritual activities. Apparently it was being used for new agey type rituals before he leased it.