Emergency CRB Rules for Hawaiʻi Island Adopted Thanks to Community Action
RAPID RESPONSE NEEDED: CRB has now been detected on Molokaʻi and Maui. Please read and share our Biosecurity Rapid Response alert here to learn what community members can do in response to this disheartening but not unexpected development.
By Kirsten Kagimoto, Chapter Deputy Director and Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 3.25 minutes
For months, community members and allies across Hawaiʻi Island have been raising the alarm: coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRB) are spreading across North Kona, and without immediate action, the pest could become permanently established across the island. Thanks to community organizing and the willingness of hundreds to speak up for the future of Moku o Keawe, the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity has now adopted emergency rules to help prevent the spread of CRB across Hawaiʻi Island.
CRB is one of the most destructive invasive pests in Hawaiʻi, attacking coconut trees and other important plants such as ʻulu and hala. The beetle has already caused major damage on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi. After resurfacing in Waikōloa in 2025, new beetles and breeding sites have now been discovered throughout North Kona—raising urgent concerns that the pest could soon spread islandwide, if more action is not taken.
One of the biggest risks is the human-assisted movement of CRB, including larvae and eggs. CRB larvae develop in decomposing green waste, like mulch, compost, landscaping debris, and other organic material. When these materials are transported from an infested area to another location, they can easily carry beetle eggs and larvae with them.
However, until now, there have been no enforceable rules preventing untreated mulch and other high-risk materials from being transported from CRB-infested areas in Kona to other parts of Hawaiʻi Island. Despite a voluntary compliance order issued in June 2025, asking residents and businesses not to move materials that can harbor the beetle, these materials have continued to be transported across the island, increasing the risk that new infestations could take hold far beyond Kona.
Should that happen, CRB may very well be the next high-profile invasive pest that makes its permanent home on Hawaiʻi Island.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Hawaiʻi Island community members, including the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund and Pōhaku Pelemaka, petitioned the state Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity earlier this year to initiate emergency rulemaking for enforceable rules to prevent the further spread of CRB. The proposed interim rules would require businesses transporting high-risk CRB host material from infested areas to follow basic safeguards, including training, treatment, and other best management practices designed to prevent the pest from being transported to additional locations, as regional eradication efforts in Kona continue.
The community response to the rulemaking petition was immediate, and powerful. Thanks in large part to organizing and outreach efforts by the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, Pōhaku Pelemaka, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, and others, hundreds of Hawaiʻi residents spoke up when the Board first considered the petition in January, submitting more than 200 pages of written testimony and hours of compelling verbal testimony.
That public pressure made a difference. The Board directed Department of Agriculture staff to draft interim rules and bring them back for approval by its March meeting—an important, concrete deadline, after months of concern that regulatory action was lagging behind the growing infestation. With the Board’s support, the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, Pōhaku Pelemaka, Big Island Invasive Species Committee, and Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity staff would continue to work on outreach and consensus building with the Kona community, including businesses that would be affected by the proposed rules.
In late February, with continued public support, the Department’s Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals reviewed the proposal and gave its required recommendation for the Board to adopt the interim rules. Then, in March, the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity gave its final approval of the rules in their final form.
A summary of the rules and opportunities for affected businesses to learn about how to comply with them can be found at the Big Island Invasive Species Committee’s website here.
These rules aren’t a perfect shield against the further spread of CRB on Hawaiʻi Island. Educating businesses and ensuring they understand the rules will be key. Continued community vigilance and best practices across Hawaiʻi Island – inspecting green waste, mulch, and compost for eggs and larvae; looking out for CRB damage on palms; and educating friends and neighbors will also be critical. Moreover, engaging with agency officials and elected representatives may also be essential to ensuring the regulatory action and government resources needed to supplement community efforts. However, by reducing the likelihood that CRB may be transported to new areas, these interim rules can significantly slow the spread of CRB across Hawaiʻi Island, and give the community a better chance of containing the infestation in West Hawaiʻi, where the pest may still have a chance of being eradicated.
Together, our collective voices can still help protect Hawaiʻi’s lands, food systems, and ecosystems from this devastating pest.