CRB rules for Molokaʻi at risk. Take action!
Last month, you helped convince the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity to move forward with desperately needed interim protections for Molokaʻi, which would temporarily prohibit the importation of palm trees and other coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material (like mulch) to the island. With the island’s food security, cultural practices, ecological integrity, and overall economy at stake, and given the daily risk of CRB introductions, this common-sense proposal must be implemented as soon as possible.
Now, the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals must make a recommendation on the proposed interim rule, scheduled to take place on Wednesday September 17, 2025 at their 9 a.m. meeting. But there is a catch: Plant Quarantine Branch leadership is urging the committee to water the proposal down, to allow for the import of high-risk plants and materials from certain infested areas with a permit, or from anywhere that is not Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, or a portion of west Hawaiʻi island. This is unacceptable.
The Plant Quarantine Branch’s watered-down alternative keeps the door wide open for CRB to reach Molokaʻi. It turns a blind eye to the repeated introduction of CRB into non-infested areas, including via permitted interisland shipments from Oʻahu. It ignores the fact that CRB could easily spread to areas beyond Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and west Hawaiʻi Island, where mulch and other products could be shipped to Molokaʻi without even a permit. These watered-down rules would render Molokaʻi unnecessarily and unacceptably vulnerable to much higher chances of CRB introductions, and the devastating impacts that could result.
Please take a moment to support the request of the Molokaʻi community, and to urge the Advisory Committee to ensure the greatest possible protection of the island, until alternative strategies are identified. Sample testimony and testimony instructions can be found below.
Donʻt let Molokaʻi fall to CRB on our watch. Testify today, and don’t forget to spread the word!
How You Can Help:
1. Submit written testimony by Tuesday, September 16 at 9 a.m. (if can - later is OK as well).
E-mail to HDOA.PQ.TESTIMONY@hawaii.gov
Subject line: Agenda IV.A - Interim Rule to Prohibit the Transportation of Material that May Introduce the CRB to the Island of Molokaʻi
Sample testimony below.
2. Attend the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals meeting on Wednesday, September 17, starting at 9 am, via Zoom or in person.
Zoom link here. Other virtual participation links and information are on the agenda; OR
Attend in person at the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity Plant Quarantine Branch 1849 Auiki Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96819-3100
4. Spread the word!
Sample Testimony
Aloha Advisory Committee Members,
My name is [your name] and I am testifying in STRONG SUPPORT of the interim rule to prohibit the transportation of coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material to the Island of Molokaʻi from any other island, as proposed by petitioners Kunani and Ipo Nihipali. I also strongly urge you to not water down this rule as suggested by Plant Quarantine Branch staff, which will only leave Molokaʻi needlessly vulnerable to a much higher risk of CRB introductions and the devastating impacts that could result.
We know the impacts that the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) may have on not just our iconic and culturally vital niu, but on other plants and crops of great cultural, ecological, and economic importance, including loulu, maia, kalo, papaya, and others.
[Feel free to insert your own story or experiences with CRB here]
We also know how easily this pest can spread through the movement of infested plants, mulch, and other host material, including between and across islands, as illustrated by repeated new detections on Hawai‘i Island, Maui, and most recently, Lānaʻi - even under the Plant Quarantine Branch’s permitting system for exports from Oʻahu.
The establishment of CRB on Molokaʻi would be particularly devastating to the island’s agriculture and food security, cultural practices, ecological integrity, and local economy - and to our islands’ cultural heritage as a whole. As the last main Hawaiian island not yet impacted by CRB, and with little on-island resources to detect and eradicate new populations of this pest, it is imperative that we do everything we can to reduce the potential risk and frequency of CRB introductions to Molokaʻi, as much as possible. Accordingly, please recommend that the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity adopt the full protections afforded in the rule put forward by Kunani and Ipo Nihipali.
Please do not adopt the Plant Quarantine Branch’s watered-down version of the proposed rule. This version turns a blind eye to the repeated failures of the Department’s permitting system for Oʻahu exports, as well as its demonstrated inability to contain CRB from areas it recognizes as “infested.” By allowing imports of CRB host material from infested areas under a clearly imperfect permitting system, and allowing the continued, unregulated import of material from areas where CRB could easily spread to over the next year, this watered-down recommendation needlessly risks the future of Molokaʻi for no discernable reason – other than to cater to a small handful of businesses that might seek to export mulch and other host material to the island. This is unacceptable.
Accordingly, I respectfully but strongly urge you to SUPPORT the interim rule proposal as put forward by Kunani and Ipo Nihipali and supported by thousands of testifiers and petition signers from Molokaʻi and across the islands. Mahalo nui for your consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Mahalo nui for taking action on this critical issue!