Photographing Hawaii’s Endangered Species

David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton

If you’re wondering why this newsletter and the recently circulated 2004 Fall Retreat Program Guide are so visually enticing, it is largely due to the images taken by David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton.

David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton began photographing endangered plants and animals of North America with a desire to introduce them to people who otherwise would not come into contact with them. They have produced three books: Here Today: Portraits of Our Vanishing Species, Witness: Endangered Species of North America, and Remains of a Rainbow: Rare Plants and Animals of Hawai‘i.

Five years in the making, and produced in association with Environmental Defense, with the assistance of the National Tropical Botanical Garden and The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i, Remains of a Rainbow documents the rich but imperiled tapestry of life indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. To obtain these portraits, Liittschwager and Middleton had to pare down their technological needs to fit in a seventy-pound backpack and traverse dusty drylands and muddy rainforests, and alight from helicopters onto narrow razorback mountain ridges.

“After seventeen years of personal encounters with endangered species, we have come to see that life of any kind is intrinsically elegant and endlessly intriguing. What especially fascinates us are native species which have evolved and adapted to their habitats over millions of years, and are the quintessential expressions of the places where they live. We have turned our eyes toward Hawai‘i, one of the biologically richest places on the earth, and one of the most threatened.

Hawai‘i has the unfortunate distinction of being the endangered species capital of the world. It comprises only 0.2 of one percent of the total US land area, yet over one fourth of the species on the US endangered species list are Hawaiian, numbering nearly 300 species, 90% of which are plants. The most isolated group of islands in the world, it has a rich evolutionary history, which has produced a vast array of organisms found nowhere else on earth, and they are disappearing at an alarming rate. During our time in Hawai‘i we have experienced the euphoria of Eden and witnessed the devastation of its loss. We have developed the story we feel we can tell. As the vision has become clearer, so do our feelings of urgency to make it tangible.

We have continued our portraiture of Hawaiian native plants and animals, including not only species on the endangered species list, but those which have not made it through the listing process and are known to be equally as threatened, particularly terrestrial invertebrates. We have also highlighted species which are new discoveries (not yet known to science) or rediscoveries (thought to be extinct), working closely with field biologists. We have produced a grouping of portraits, in black-and-white and color, of over one hundred species, representing all of the islands and all of the native wildlife groups.

Beyond the portraiture of individual species, we have illustrated rare native habitats—intact ecosystems—where plants and animals still live in healthy relationship to one another, creating spectacular assemblages of multiple organisms resembling magic gardens. This is the first time we have visually explored habitats with the intention of communicating some of their complexity and splendor photographically. What we have seen and experienced in Hawaii has inspired us to show something of these places, which are the only safe harbors for their inhabitants. These natural communities are as fragile as they are remote, often situated high in the mountains on razorback ridges, on steep cliffs, and isolated densely vegetated valleys. Their inaccessibility and the need to protect them from damage mean that few people will ever have the opportunity to experience them directly. Our objective has been to document and communicate the richness and value of these native places through our photographs.

The images and other documentation link together to tell a story—of the rare creatures and habitats in the Hawaiian Islands, the human cultural practices and alien invaders that threaten their survival, and the people devoted to their preservation. It is a rich story about a rich place—the “crown jewel” of our national natural heritage—and we believe that through our eyes we can help communicate this story in a unique and compelling way.”

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) Project

During their Hawaiian fieldwork, Liittschwager and Middleton became aware of the importance and distinction of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and with support from the US Fish and Wildlife Service they were able to visit some of the islands. It became clear that they could not adequately represent this part of Hawai‘i within the scope of their project, which focused on the main Hawaiian Islands. These older and more remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the surrounding marine environment deserve more attention.

Liittschwager and Middleton now propose to create a body of work which would represent the native flora and fauna of the NWHI, both terrestrial and marine. “Our approach would combine aspects of scientific documentation and photographic portraiture as an art form. We aim to evoke an emotional response in the viewer…leading to curiosity, connection, and caring for the welfare of this community. Producing a fully integrated portrayal, we will present the portraits as the core component within a visual context of diverse habitats, ongoing research including the discovery of new species, threats, and preservation efforts.”

“We have become spokespersons for conservation as well as makers of photographs, carefully conveying a message to the public in ways that support efforts to understand and preserve the richness and variety of life.” Their photographs have been enthusiastically received and solicited by the scientific, fine art, educational and environmental communities.

We are extremely grateful to David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton for the work they do and for allowing us to reproduce their images in this newsletter and our 2004 Fall Retreat Program Guide.