Driving amphibious assault vehicles through ancient fishponds to help endangered birds?

The Marines will drive amphibious assault vehicles through Nu’upi’a ponds to remove invasive weeds and supposedly help create habitat for Ae’o, the endangered Hawaiian Stilt.    And in doing so are spreading the seeds of the pickleweed.  I wonder how the military was allowed to do this in an ancient Hawaiian fishpond.   I can’t imagine that amphibious assault vehicles are good for preservation of cultural sites.   What about letting Hawaiians restore the fishponds?

Check out this article from 2003:  “It’s better than a monster-truck rally.”

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http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100207/BREAKING01/100207026/Marine++Mud+Ops++to+help+endangered+birds+next+week

Updated at 12:19 p.m., Sunday, February 7, 2010

Marine ‘Mud Ops’ to help endangered birds next week

Associated Press

Marines at Kaneohe Bay are due to help endangered native birds this week by driving amphibious assault vehicles through the mud as part of three days of exercises that begin tomorrow.

The annual exercises at the Nuupia Ponds Wildlife Management Area at Marine Corps Base Hawai’i are called “Mud Ops.”

The vehicles break up weeds on mudflats, improving foraging and ground-nesting opportunities for endangered Hawaiian Stilts that live there.

Without these efforts, the invasive pickle weed would crowd the birds out of their natural habitat.

The number of Hawaiian stilts using the ponds has grown to 160 from 60 since the Marines began Mud Ops 28 years ago.

Other native and migratory waterbirds have also started using the Windward Oahu ponds more.

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