About Nēnē Research and Conservation
Mission
We work alongside USFWS, DOFAW, refuges, parks, and private landowners on the day-to-day recovery of nēnē. We collect and share community sighting data, back predator and biosecurity work, and help turn field observations into the kind of management that keeps the species from sliding back toward where it was in 1949.
Who are we?
Nēnē Research and Conservation started as a small thing Jordan and Ariel were doing on the side: pulling scattered nēnē sightings into one place that biologists, landowners, and the public could actually use. We run surveys, read bands, build tools like this site, and stay in close contact with the agencies and refuges doing the long-haul recovery work. The goal is simple. Better data, fewer dead birds, a clearer picture of how nēnē are doing across the islands.
Our team
.png&w=640&q=75)
Jordan Lerma
Volunteer
Jordan is a Native Hawaiian conservation biologist who works across wildlife research, technology, and protected-species policy in Hawaiʻi. He was previously Executive Director of Nēnē Research and Conservation and stepped down in early 2026 to lead the Protected Species Program at the State of Hawaiʻi DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources. He still volunteers with the organization. Most weeks that means some mix of statewide monitoring, GIS, and field tools (remote cameras, telemetry, automated reporting) and the slower work of keeping agencies, landowners, and community observers talking to each other.
Ariel Imoto
Executive Director
Ariel is a Native Hawaiian who lives in the North Hilo ahupuaʻa, in the town of Pāpaʻikou. She has a B.S. in Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Before this work she was with Keauhou Bird Conservation, National Tropical Botanical Garden, and the Hawaii Tree Snail Conservation Laboratory. She also draws, and uses illustration and social media to get people paying attention to the conservation issues she cares about.
Katie Cartee
Director of Operations
Katie works and volunteers with a handful of Hawaiian wildlife groups. She grew up in Alaska, picked up a Bachelor's in Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is wrapping up a Marine Science degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo with more school after that. When she's not studying or out surveying for nēnē, she's usually volunteering with Hawaiian monk seals or hauling marine debris off beaches with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund.
.png&w=640&q=75)
Manuohina Lerma
Field Assistant
Manuohina is 4. She has better eyes than both Jordan and Ariel. Her job is spotting birds and checking for bands. Off the clock, she's riding her bike or playing with her dog Hiku.
Stay updated
A quarterly email. Sighting numbers, individual birds worth watching, and whatever we're working on in the field.