HALEAKALA NATIONAL PARK, Maui — The first major release of nene at Haleakala National Park in 30 years will take place Tuesday when 17 Hawaiian geese raised in captivity will be set free.

The nene were hatched and reared at the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda. State biologists will place the birds in crates and drive up to Hosmer Grove within park boundaries, where a helicopter will fly the nene to the crater's Paliku backcountry.

The Friends of Haleakala National Park's Adopt-A-Nene program is paying for the flight.

National Park Service wildlife biologist Cathleen Bailey said the Haleakala nene are "barely surviving," with an estimated population of 250 that has not grown over the years.

Limited food resources have made it difficult for young birds to survive, she said.

Biologists are hoping the 17 nene to be released next week will become part of the breeding population and help boost the Haleakala numbers.

The geese were once extinct on Maui. The state began recovery efforts on the island in 1962, when 36 nene were taken into the crater in boxes carried by Boy Scouts.

From 1962 to 1977, about 500 birds were released at Haleakala, and several smaller releases have occurred since then. The last release was in 2002, when four nene where flown into the Paliku area.

A separate population of nene roams the West Maui Mountains.

Nesting season is from October through March. Park officials ask that visitors stay on trails and keep their distance from nesting nene. Any disturbances can separate females from their young and lessen their chances for survival.

Motorists are asked to use caution on roads in and around the park. Geese that have come to expect handouts from humans frequent parking lots and roadways, and have been killed by cars in the past.