Hawaii Resort Sued Over Bright Lights That Harm Endangered Birds

Conservation groups are suing Grand Wailea, a luxury resort in Hawaii because of the continued threat posed by its bright lights to the endangered Hawaiian petrels "for more than a decade."

Hawaiian petrels use the moon and stars to navigate their way to the sea, explained the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) in a news release. However, during fledgling season, the creatures headed for the sea for the first time are instead drawn to the bright lights.

The confused birds end up circling these bright lights "until they fall to the ground from exhaustion or strike human-made structures," the lawsuit by conservation groups in Hawaii noted. And it was not just the fledglings. Even the adult birds that live on the island from February to October tend to experience a similar fate.

Unfortunately, even if they do survive the fall uninjured, once they are grounded, the Hawaiian petrels become vulnerable to threats such as predation, starvation, poaching and even being run over by vehicles.

According to the CBD, even though there are several sources of light on Maui, the Grand Wailea's 40-acre property is particularly harmful to Hawaiian petrels.

Although the resort had previously modified some of its lights in response to the CBD and the Conservation Council for Hawai'i's letter of intent to sue last year, a grounded fledgling was recovered during the 2021 fallout season. According to the CBD, this suggests that the damage caused by the resort's lights is still ongoing.

"The Grand Wailea has been killing our precious Hawaiian petrels for too long. The half steps it took in 2021 are just not enough," Maxx Phillips, the Hawaii director and staff attorney at the CBD, said in the organization's news release. "The Grand Wailea could easily be a partner in the recovery of these vulnerable birds instead of a factor in speeding their extinction."

"It is our hope that we can come to a resolution with the Grand Wailea before the next fledging season begins in September," Moana Bjur, the executive director at Conservation Council for Hawai'i, added. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is about to declare that eight native Hawaiian birds are now officially extinct. We need to do everything we can to prevent the Hawaiian petrel from being added to that list."

In a statement to KITV-4, the Grand Wailea noted that "sustainability and stewardship" are a part of its actions, citing its efforts to promote reef-safe sunscreens and eliminate single-use plastics.

"Protecting all wildlife in our community is of the utmost importance to us," the resort noted. "To that end, we partnered with a leading local expert to assist our efforts to ensure native and endangered bird species can seamlessly coexist and flourish in and around Grand Wailea."