The fanihi is a subspecies of fruit bat found only in the Mariana archipelago, including the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
“Throughout its history, the fanihi has been an essential part of the culture of the Mariana Islands,” said Loyal Mehrhoff, field supervisor for the Fish and Wildlife Office in the Pacific Islands. “It is our hope that the people of the Mariana Islands will support this plan and come together to ensure that the fanihi will be a sustainable part of their culture for many years to come.”
The fanihi was originally listed as endangered on Guam in 1984, and a recovery plan for the species was approved in 1990. In January 2005, the Service published a final rule reclassifying the species to threatened status because the Guam population was considered a subset of a single population distributed throughout the Mariana archipelago.
The new revised plan will guide future recovery actions for the subspecies.
“Growing up, I recall the stories my parents and grandparents told me about the fanihi and the special place it holds in the Chamorro culture,” said Tony Babauta, the Department of the Interior’s assistant secretary of insular areas.
“The fanihi has endured many challenges to its continued existence in the Marianas and this new recovery plan provides hope that its cultural significance is not only remembered in cultural lore alone but that the fanihi continues to live and thrive in the jungles of the Marianas for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.”
The plan includes recovery actions that will address the immediate management of the species to reduce risks and stabilize the existing population; actions to reduce or eliminate hunting to allow increases in fanihi numbers throughout the archipelago; protection of the best existing habitat and enhancement of additional suitable habitat;
effective control and interdiction of the brown treesnake; research to address gaps in our knowledge of the fanihi life history and ecology and improve our ability to model the population, assess its sensitivity to specific threats and management actions, and forecast how best to ensure its continued existence.
The availability of the draft revised recovery plan for a 90-day public comment period was announced in the Federal Register on March 30.
Copies of the draft plan are available through the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Web site at http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands or by calling the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Honolulu office at 808-792-9400.
Written comments may be submitted until June 28, 2010 to Loyal Mehrhoff, Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850.
