HONOLULU — KITV4 reported that The Outdoor Circle, a nonprofit environmental group, gave the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) high marks for measures it is taking to preserve up to 900 trees that will need to be removed to make way for the 20-mile rail line.

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Marti Townsend, the Outdoor Circle's executive director, told KITV4 that HART has done “an excellent job” working to ensure that the trees they transplant survive.

KITV4 added that according to a report filed with the City Council, the transit system plans to move about 500 trees along the rail line. In the first phase of the project, 300 trees have been removed and 250 of those have been transplanted elsewhere with a 90% survival rate.

Additionally, some trees that have been determined to be too valuable to lose have resulted in HART moving rail columns by a few feet to accommodate them. For the full story, click here.