University of Maine at Farmington

Senior geography major Ethan Bogar has used GPS mapping and GIS database development skills learned in the UMF geography program to help the Hawaiian Island of Lana'i preserve two precious resources: Acacia Koa trees and fresh water.

Bogar completed the internship research for philanthropist David Murdock, who owns Dole Food Company, as well as resorts and residential communities on the island. Murdock hired Bogar to survey how much Acacia Koa remains on the island and to develop a reforestation plan for keeping the island's Koa craftsmen gainfully employed.

After mapping the incidence of Acacia Koa and invasive species, Bogar presented his sustainable forestry report to Murdock's company and the vice president of Castle and Cook, Murdock's privately held development company.

"Nine Koa trees will have to be planted for every one that's taken out of the woods," he said. "Axis deer, a non-native species that were introduced to the island in the mid-1800s, eat Koa saplings, which is why over planting is necessary to keep the forest sustainable."

James Juvik, a professor of biogeography at the University of Hawaii, happened to see Bogar developing his Acacia Koa GIS database, and, impressed by the quality and complexity of the database, offered Bogar an opportunity to participate in Juvik's three-year study of Lanai's fresh water resources.

"The research involves determining how much recharge there is to the island's aquifer on a daily and annual basis to make sure land development doesn’t exceed available water," said Bogar, who will co-author a scientific journal article with Juvik on the watershed study. As soon as Bogar completes the geography internship research on developing a sustainable Acacia Koa forest, the field research hours he's logging with Dr. Juvik will eventually count toward a master's degree in biogeography from the University of Hawaii.

-- By Marc Glass, managing editor of the UMF alumni magazine

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