Invasive species are everyone’s kuleana—especially the Department of Agriculture’s

by Kirsten Kagimoto, Chapter Deputy Director | Reading time: 9 minutes

Hawaiʻi has long been impacted by invasive species. With Western contact came cattle and other ungulates that wreaked havoc on farmers and watersheds; livestock-preferred flammable grasses that took over landscapes disrupted by industrial agriculture; predators that decimated native forest, sea, and waterbirds; and mosquitoes and their mosquito-borne diseases that have proven deadly for both humans and native wildlife; among others. More recently, kalo farmers have struggled with introduced apple snails and crayfish taking over their loʻi; introduced freshwater and saltwater species have outcompeted or predated on native fish, invertebrates, coral, and limu; introduced mongooses and other predators have extirpated native birds and even sea turtles; quick spreading trees like albizia, miconia, and strawberry guava have impaired or taken over native ecosystems and placed our water security at risk; and pests such as the little fire ant, coconut rhinoceros beetle, coqui frogs, and countless others have changed our  Hawaiʻi nei forever.

Today, invasive species are one of the greatest threats to life as we know it in Hawaiʻi. They impact our food security, water security, climate resilience, traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices, economy, and overall quality of life while out competing endemic flora and fauna, increasingly threatening many with extinction. 

While we face the impact of invasive species every day, this month let’s dive a bit deeper as May is Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month—an annual event dedicated to educating and mobilizing communities across Hawaiʻi to protect our islands from the threats posed by invasive species. This year, the theme of Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month is “Who Protects Hawaiʻi? You do. Invasive Species are everyone’s kuleana.”

Yes, absolutely. We all have a responsibility to defend our Hawaiʻi nei. We, as individuals, all wish to protect what we love about Hawaiʻi, what we cherish, what our livelihoods today and for generations have depended on and will continue to depend on. Kiaʻi throughout the islands fight every day to care for their kuleana, to protect the places they hold close, to do the painstaking work chipping away at invasives among many other challenges brought on by colonization, to ensure that the Hawaiʻi of tomorrow is not burdened with the same, or worse, fights that we fight today. Undoubtedly, all of this is critical and irreplaceable work.

But without meaningful biosecurity measures and invasive species controls at the state and county government levels, we may all be fighting a losing battle. The Department of Agriculture in particular has dragged its feet for years, across multiple administrations, to come up with, much less implement, a plan for our systemic and strategic biosecurity needs. As a result, established and new invasive species continue to invade our home to the detriment of our cultural, environmental, and economic integrity and overall well-being – detriments that are only bound to get worse in the face of the climate crisis. 

Calling on individuals to stop invasive species should not be used to distract from the need to call on our governmental administrators, including the Department of Agriculture, to step up from its  business-as-usual laissez-faire approach to biosecurity. Similar messages have been used to deflate and deflect efforts to call out the fossil fuel industry and its destruction of our planet, by placing the burden on individuals to simply eat less meat and recycle in order to somehow stop the climate crisis.

Everyone else is stepping up to combat the spread of Hawaiʻi’s most recent invasive pests – but the Department of Agriculture’s leadership, including under the current administration, continues to fail us. 

Still get chance for some
While many invasive species are well established and are an unfortunate part of life today, we are at a crossroads with a few species that could be a make-it-or-break-it for our future, including coconut rhinoceros beetles and little fire ants.

Despite state agencies calling Oʻahu a loss when it comes to coconut rhinoceros beetles, we can still fight back to slow the spread of this devastating pest on Oʻahu, and we must absolutely stop its spread to other islands. Coconut rhinoceros beetles jeopardize plants and crops that are critical to Hawaiʻi’s ecosystems, cultural resources, food security, and economy—threatening not only niu but also kalo, maiʻa, hala, loulu and more. Alarmingly, adult beetles and larvae have recently been found on Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi Island, and Maui.

Little fire ants have been present in East Hawaiʻi for 25 years and have been found in relatively isolated populations on Maui, Kauaʻi, and Lānaʻi. Ask anyone from Hilo and they will tell you about the pains of living with little fire ants. Unfortunately, in recent years, little fire ants have been spreading on Oʻahu, where there are a few dozen active populations. Little fire ants pose a significant threat to our environment, culture, public health, economy, and overall quality of life. Their painful stings inflict long lasting welts and potential anaphylaxis in humans while blinding domestic pets. They damage crops which in turn promotes other plant pests, disrupting our food production and cultural resources, and contributing to the widespread use of harmful pesticides. Their presence also reduces recreational and economic opportunities reliant on Hawaiʻi’s natural beauty and outdoor spaces. 

Unfortunately, the all-hands-on-deck response by individuals across the islands to detect and eradicate these and other invasive pests are being confounded by the lack of quarantine rules to hold businesses legally liable for selling pest-infested plants, mulch, and other commodities. Despite the “silent crises” now facing our islands, the current Department of Agriculture director continues to hold back quarantine rules, 15 months after they were approved for a public hearing by the Board of Agriculture, and three months after a hearing was finally held (with voluminous testimonies in unanimous support). 

Name the bad actors

As it stands now, the Department of Agriculture claims they have no legal authority to stop nurseries and other businesses from knowingly selling plants and other commodities that have invasive pests in them. They even admit to knowing of a handful of “bad actor” nurseries that may be openly contributing to the spread of invasive pests like coconut rhinoceros beetles and little fire ants, and refusing to allow their inventory to be inspected or to stop the sale of infested products. Yet the department refuses to name the majority of them, despite increasing pressure from lawmakers - leaving no way to publicly warn their customers that they may have brought an infestation to their homes or farms. 

(So far, Koba’s Nursery has been named as a business that has refused inspections or failed to cooperate after being suspected of selling infested products. If you have received services or plants from this business, it is highly recommended that you test for little fire ants immediately (diy test instructions here or request a test kit here) and if you find little fire ants or have concerns, call 643-PEST.)

Pass the quarantine rules

Back in February 2023, Department of Agriculture staff drafted amendments to administrative rules that proposed an intra- and inter-island quarantine for infested plants and other organic matter. These proposed amendments would address the “lack of authority” the department continues to cite as to why it cannot stop bad actor businesses from knowingly risking the sale of infested products to their customers. The department sat on these proposed amendments for over a year, letting invasive pest infestations worsen, until finally, after an overwhelming public outcry, they held a public hearing for the amendments at the end of January 2024. Now, three months later, no progress has been made on implementing the proposed amendments. 

(Most recently, after intense public outcry, the Department of Agriculture did implement interim rules that impose quarantines on areas infested with little fire ants, for the island of Oʻahu, for one year. While this is a step in the right direction, this is only a stopgap measure compared to the comprehensive and Hawaiʻi-wide impact of the stalled permanent rules.)

There were also a couple of promising bills at the legislature this year that would have established a game changing suite of invasive species control and eradication tools. While these bills were deferred, they did gain momentum and well-deserved attention from legislators, constituents, and the media. In their place, and to the satisfaction of the Department of Agriculture, another bill was passed that invests $20 million in the department for positions to focus on invasive species controls. As the sole entity with authority to regulate and control invasive species’ spread, these positions are much needed and we can only hope that they lead to more capacity to not only curb the spread but implement additional measures that will stop new invasive pests in their tracks.

Energize and mobilize

So yes, invasive species are everyone’s kuleana. There is important work that is done by outstanding individuals to energize their communities to stop the invasion of pests in their backyards. But the focus can’t just be at the individual level, government agencies must also be held accountable and urged to do the right thing to make everyone’s actions worthwhile and impactful in the long-term.

That means that as the same time as we talk to our neighbors, check our plants and compost piles, and call in detections, we must also continue to pressure the powers at be to implement meaningful, systemic controls to stop the further introduction and spread of invasive pests, to proactively research and implement biosecurity measures, and to support the organizations that do the hard work day in and day out.

It was not until we pressured the Administration and the Department of Agriculture that they moved forward with a public hearing on their quarantine rules, and considered interim rules on little fire ants. We must continue to call on them to complete the rulemaking process and to name the “bad actor” businesses that may be contributing to the spread of invasive pests. 

It is not fair to put the burden of controlling the spread of invasive species on an individual level while Hawaiʻi’s doors are open for new and more species to enter. Individual actions hold weight but systematic changes are critical too.

Below you will find resources on invasive pests and actions to take at the community level, as well as a couple of actions to take to urge the administration to make real change.

Community actions:

• If you suspect little fire ants in your neighborhood, or have purchased plants and/or organic materials from a bad actor business, use this simple peanut butter trick to survey for the ants, and report any detections to (808)643-PEST. You can also request a testing kit here.

• It is a good idea to test regularly and to encourage your neighbors to do so as well.

• Check out Hawaiʻi Ant Lab for its monthly webinar on little fire ant management and other great resources on management and eradication.

• Learn more about little fire ants across the islands with Stop the Ant.

• Do not transport mulch and check your mulch and compost piles regularly for little fire ants and coconut rhinoceros beetles, including their grubs.

• If you find coconut rhinoceros beetles or their larvae anywhere but Oʻahu, contact (808)643-PEST immediately. 

• Oʻahu residents should call 808-679-5244 or email info@crbhawaii.org if beetles or larvae are found

• Learn more about Hawaiʻi’s biosecurity and invasive species control efforts from our friends at the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species. 

Advocacy actions:

• Call on Governor Green and your lawmakers to ensure the Department of Agriculture swiftly moves forward with critical rule amendments to stop “bad actor” businesses from selling invasive pest infested goods and to publicly name the “bad actors.”