Award-winner Profile
Hawaii Volcanoes resource manager honored
The Director’s Award for Natural Resource Management was presented in October 2001 to Tim Tunison, Resource Management Specialist at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. As early as 1986, Tunison led and documented experiments to remove exotic plants in very small areas called special ecological areas (SEAs), and focused on methods that encourage native species to reestablish. He collaborated with scientists to use SEAs as living laboratories, formulating and testing hypotheses about native ecosystems and their vulnerability to exotic plant invasions, and devising practical techniques to restore and protect native systems. As a result, Tunison and his resource management crew have effectively restored native ecosystems ravaged by exotic plant infestations in the park—a task some thought was hopeless. His successes over the long term have encouraged all the NPS land managers of the Pacific Islands to reconsider their techniques for managing exotic species.
“The problem with exotics in Hawaii is a big one, which has led some people to say it is impossible. Sure, it is a big job, but there is hope because we have made a lot of progress in restoring native ecosystems. What we learn here is important because parks in the mainland will be confronted with similar problems over time,” says Tunison. “As for the award, it was fun to get my 15 minutes of fame, but creating a model that other park managers can use is what’s important. Other than that, my kids really loved the sculpture of the buffalo that was presented as the award. The Park Service really got that right.”