Kure Atoll has had a history of human activities that have damaged the ecosystem. Invasive alien plants and animals have negatively altered seabird habitat and caused lower reproductive success in several seabird species. Several native plant species are now extinct on Green Island due, in part, to the invasive nature of weeds and arthropods such as Verbesina encelioides and Big-headed ants (Pheidole megacephala). These two ecosystem busters no longer have an impact on the system due to decades of control programs. Continued pest control efforts must be maintained until eradication is achieved or the system will revert to its degraded state.
It is a [delicate dance] to restore an ecosystem and find the balance between the efforts given to the cause and the impact the environment receives from sudden changes, whether positive or negative, and over the years the methods have been refined to better accomplish the objectives more effectively.
The primary activities in the habitat restoration project are to eradicate invasive plants followed by native plant restoration, and pest management.