Hawaii covers only two-tenths of 1 percent of the land area of the United States, but it is home to more than one-third of the endangered species in the entire country. For Sewickley native Richard Palmer, realizing the consequences of those statistics helped convince him to leave a career in medical research -- and his home and family in Western Pennsylvania -- to study plant biology and join Hawaii's conservation crusade. A talk on his work as an environmental health specialist with the Hawaii Department of Health will kick off a three-month photo exhibition of Hawaii's rare and endangered plants and animals by acclaimed wildlife photographers David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton. The exhibition, "Remains of a Rainbow: Rare Plants and Animals of Hawaii," will be on display at Carnegie Museum of Natural History beginning Saturday, and running through Aug. 15. Palmer studied chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University for two and a half years before relocating to the West Coast in 1972 to take a job with a firm that developed medical lab test kits. He says he first visited the Hawaiian Islands on vacation in 1980 and was so captivated by their beauty and the plight of native Hawaiian wildlife that he returned three more times in the next four years. "My first trip convinced me I wanted to change careers," he says. He finished his undergraduate degree in plant molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990 and moved to Honolulu in 1990, where he attended graduate school in botany at the University of Hawaii, receiving his Ph.D. in 1996. He is a research associate in Carnegie Museum's Botany Division and has contributed specimens for Carnegie's permanent collection. In Hawaii, Palmer says he had an opportunity to take a field trip with Middleton of San Francisco last month. She and Liittschwager have been photographing endangered species for more than 15 years. The portraits in Carnegie's "Remains of a Rainbow" exhibition are from a book published by National Geographic in association with Environmental Defense, a leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting environmental rights. More than 40 of the portraits from the book are incorporated into the traveling exhibit. Middleton says her photos represent a different approach to dealing with the problems of extinction of plants and animals that live on the islands. "Hawaii is considered a paradise, but most people don't realize what the real paradise is," she says. Through the exhibit, she hopes to touch people emotionally and raise public awareness about the plight of the plants and animals she photographs. "It's a kind of place that has global relevance," she says. Palmer refers to Hawaii's endangered species as "like a canary in a coal mine when it comes to ecological issues." He says he believes it's "just a matter of time" before similar problems make their way to the mainland. Palmer says the most pressing biological issue in Hawaii is dealing with invasive species such as giant-leaf Miconia trees, which were brought to the islands from Central America and are quickly replacing the native forest and its wildlife, upsetting the natural balance of the environment. "It's a tremendous problem," he says. "In some cases, it may be too late to eradicate, but its spreading needs to be controlled." Middleton says an interesting aspect of the exhibit that visitors seem to respond to is her photos of native insects, such as colorful Hawaiian Damselflies. Endangered plants are fascinating, too, she notes, and they are a challenge to photograph because of their locations. "In Hawaii, most native plants thrive in the mountains or remote locations," she says, "making the field work difficult." She spent more than five years traveling to and from the mainland, researching and photographing the species that are included in the exhibit, she says. The photographer says she already has started work on her next project, photographing endangered marine life in the northwestern coral reefs of Hawaii. In his work, Palmer says he is involved with evaluating old abandoned sugar mills in Hawaii for residual pesticides and chemicals used in production of sugar. Sugar cane was once a prosperous crop, but there are only two active sugar mills left on Kauai and Maui today, he says. In conjunction with the Hawaii exhibition, several sections of the natural history museum will display related items from their collections, including specimens from the Section of Botany and the Hawk moth from the Section of Invertebrate Zoology (insects). Museum programs have a Hawaiian theme As part of the "Remains of a Rainbow" opening day festivities on Saturday, Carnegie Museum of Natural History will offer the following programs free with museum admission: While supplies last, colorful leis will be presented to visitors by teen docents. Performance by Royal Polynesian Dancers, noon, Carnegie Lecture Hall Authentic Hawaiian dance revue featuring hula girls, beach boy dancers and live island music performed by Polynesian musicians. "Hawai'i No Ka Oi: The Land and the People Are One," lecture by Richard Palmer, Ph.D., environmental health specialist, Hawaii Department of Health. 2 p.m., Carnegie Lecture Hall During the exhibit's run, free family workshops that explore Hawaii's biodiversity will be offered. Find out about Hawaii's plants, insects, birds and more. Includes a biodiversity scavenger hunt. 1 to 2 p.m. June 12; 2 to 3 p.m. June 27; 1 to 2 p.m. July 10; 2 to 3 p.m. July 25; and 1 to 2 p.m. Aug. 14. Additional Information:

Details

'Remains of a Rainbow: Rare Plants and Animals of Hawaii' What: Photo exhibit by acclaimed wildlife photographers David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton. When: Saturday through Aug. 15. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. and Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 5 through Aug. 30. Closed July 4. Admission: Free with museum admission: $10; $7 for senior citizens; $6 for ages 3 to 18 and full-time students with ID, and free to children younger than 3 and Carnegie members. Where: Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 5500 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Details: (412) 622-3131 or www.CarnegieMNH.org .

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