About
Protected species lead, field biologist and builder of conservation software, based in Hilo, Hawaiʻi.
I’m Jordan Lerma. I lead the Protected Species Program at the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (DLNR DAR). Most weeks are statewide protected species work, partners and field tools.
Before that I worked as a field biologist with Cascadia Research Collective on Hawaiian whales and dolphins, and in 2022 I started what became nene.org. I stepped down as executive director of Nēnē Research and Conservation in early 2026 to take on the Protected Species Program, and I still volunteer with nene.org.
In 2022 I founded nene.org, a community science and conservation project for nēnē. I’m also an FAA-certified Part 107 remote pilot and cameraman.
Selected press
- Audubon Magazine: The Nēnē Survived Near-Extinction. Can It Survive Modern Hawaiʻi?
- Honolulu Civil Beat: ‘Elvis Would Be Totally Against That’: Feral Cat Battle Reaches Fever Pitch
- Smithsonian Magazine: How a Hawaiian High School Student Inspired Nine New State Animals
- Hawaiʻi Public Radio: Community invited to submit feral cat sightings to help protect native species
- DLNR: Death of Nene Gosling in Hilo Park Points to Disease Carried By Feral Cats
- TIME: How Drones Are Helping Scientists Study and Protect Endangered Whales