Community Pressure Protects Molokaʻi and Hawaiʻi from Problematic Rule Proposals

Thank you so much to every one who took the time to submit testimony and spread the word on two highly problematic rule proposals at the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity last week. 

Thanks to an outpouring of community concerns, the Board voted to water down a requested rule amendment that would have allowed for any amount of “treated” gravel to be shipped to any part of Molokaʻi, from any other island - notwithstanding a recent emergency prohibition against the importation of gravel and other potential coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) host material. The Board decided not to support the requested rule amendment, but move forward instead with a rule that would allow for the importation of gravel to be reviewed and approved only on a case-by-case basis, by the Board and in a public meeting. While not ideal - especially as the Molokaʻi community has been working overtime to address the recent, first-ever detections of CRB on the island - the modified rule amendment has alleviated some of the most serious concerns with the initial proposal. 

In even better news, the Board also rejected a highly problematic and potentially dangerous rule proposal to officially designate as “pests” only those species found on an outdated, 2008 list of invasive species targeted for control and eradication. Concerns raised in public testimony - including whether and how such a list could tie the hands of department staff, as well as the omission of myriad, highly concerning invasive species identified over the last two decades - resulted in Board members asking staff to come back with a much more clearer and comprehensive proposal.  
Great work everyone! Please stay tuned for more biosecurity updates and potential calls to action on these and other biosecurity matters and in the meantime, be sure to sign up for biosecurity and other action alerts here - and ask your friends to do the same!