The Nature Conservancy receives $1.1 million tech grant

HONOLULU—Aerial imaging and other new technologies are changing the character of conservation in Hawaii, improving effectiveness while cutting costs. The Nature Conservancy is poised to expand the role of these high-tech methods, with the help of a $1.1 million three-year grant from the Joseph & Vera Long Foundation.

“Conservation is traditionally boots-and-shovels work, but increasingly, the challenges demand much greater impact with fewer dollars, and we are using technology to accomplish that,” said Suzanne Case, director of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i.

“We are developing, using and sharing critical technologies with the potential to revolutionize forest conservation in Hawai‘i and beyond,” Case said. The organization has also developed plans for sharing its advances with land managers across the state.

The Conservancy will use the grant to address three key objectives: the mapping of invasive weeds, the control of those weeds, and sharing conservation data and techniques.