The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i has had plenty of land to take care of in its 11 preserves statewide, but few people fully capable of caring for it.

It has begun solving the problem with a two-year, $500,000 Assistant Natural Resource Managers Fellowship training program that includes classroom work and technical training, as well as fieldwork in some of the state's most spectacular natural terrain. The philosophy: If you can't find trained workers, train them yourself.

Eldridge Naboa of the Big Island, Francis Quitazol of Maui, Sam Aruch of Moloka'i and Kahale Pali of O'ahu have taken 21 training modules, taking instruction in such diverse fields as Hawaiian natural history and fence building, helicopter safety and map-making, data analysis and predator control, fire prevention and geographic information systems.

The four primarily worked on their own islands, and as part of their work, each developed a yearlong project at one Nature Conservancy preserve.

Naboa inventoried the movement of weeds in the Conservancy's Ka'u Preserve, using satellite-based location equipment and geographic information systems to establish transect lines through the forest.

Quitazol worked on a fencing project in the Waikamoi Reserve on Haleakala.

"Most of the staff didn't have experience building fences, so I took a lead role in that project," he said.

Aruch worked at the Mo'omomi Beach Preserve and the Pelekunu and Kamakou preserves on Moloka'i, protecting a wedge-tailed shearwater colony and using geographic information systems technology to collect information on weeds.

Three of the four have stayed with the Conservancy in conservation positions. Pali, who will continue to work with the environmental arm of the U.S. Army, said one of the most significant pieces of the training was learning about Hawaiian natural history and how it relates to Hawaiian culture.

"Knowing the place names and the historical and cultural background gives it a deeper cultural and spiritual meaning. If you know this, you think of our preserves as more than just a beautiful landscape. They are significant in every way," Pali said.

Karen Poiani, the Nature Conservancy's director of conservation programs, said the organization will continue the training effort.

"Finding skilled natural resource managers to protect large landscapes with intense management needs has been a critical problem," she said. "There is just too much area to cover and not enough skilled people to do the job."

If you have a question or concern about the Hawaiian environment, drop a note to Jan TenBruggencate at P.O. Box 524, Lihu'e, HI 96766 or jant@honoluluadvertiser.com. Or call him at (808) 245-3074.