Stop the invasion!

by Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 5 minutes

It’s all-hands-on-deck in the community’s fight to stop the little fire ant (LFA), coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), and other invasive pests from permanently impacting nearly every aspect of life in our islands - from our ecological integrity, to our cultural practices, food security, public health, and overall economy. Read on for upcoming ways that you and other community members can protect our ‘āina and home from these ever-growing threats.

Submit testimony to the Department of Agriculture 

Last month, after nine months of delay and overwhelming community outcry, the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture finally agreed to hold a public hearing on invasive species rules that would help to prohibit the sale and movement of plants and other commodities infested with invasive pests, including LFA, CRB, and hala scale.

This public hearing has now been scheduled for 6pm on January 30, 2024, at the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture Plant Quarantine Branch. You can attend and testify in person (including at the Neighbor Island locations listed in the hearing notice) or via Zoom (link here).

Please take a moment to also submit written testimony by emailing hdoa.pq.testimony@hawaii.gov and including “testimony - HAR Chapter 4-72” in the subject line. Sample testimony below!

Sample written testimony:

E-mail: hdoa.pq.testimony@hawaii.gov 

Subject Line: Testimony for HAR Chapter 4-72 Rule Amendments

Dear Chair Hurd and Members of the Board of Agriculture,

I strongly support the proposed amendments to Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Chapter 4-72, which would provide desperately needed regulatory tools to ensure that current and future community efforts to combat invasive pests are not in vain.  

As we have seen on Hawaiʻi Island, invasive pests like the little fire ant (LFA) may not only be devastating to our agriculture and local food security, but to our ecological and cultural integrity, quality of life, public health, and overall economy, potentially for generations.

[Optional: include your own story, perspective, or experiences with invasive pests here.]

With the little fire ant and coconut rhinoceros beetle now being found throughout the islands, we need to utilize every tool available as soon as possible, to support the all-hands-on-deck fight against these and other emerging pest threats. 

Please pass these common sense amendments that would give the Department of Agriculture the tools it needs to do its part in the control and eradication of invasive species. Notably, these amendments would enable the Department of Agriculture to act much more quickly to legally prevent the sale and movement of certain invasive species and infested commodities between and within islands. This would be particularly critical to stopping “bad actor” nurseries and other businesses from knowingly selling infested plants and other items, confounding the work of agencies and community organizations to protect our islands and our future from the impacts of invasive pests.

Accordingly, I respectfully and strongly urge the Board to PASS the proposed rule amendments. Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.

[Your name]

Testify on Honolulu City Council Resolution 23-308 CD1

Earlier this month the Housing, Sustainability & Health committee passed Resolution 23-308, which urges the City Administration to work collaboratively with other agencies and organizations to address invasive species on the island, after over 50 testimonies in support. Thank you to everyone that submitted testimony and turned out for the hearing. 

The amended resolution is now being heard by the full council on Wednesday, January 24 at 10am. Please take a moment today to submit written testimony and register to provide verbal testimony on Wednesday in support of this important call for much needed proactive action, to deal with invasive species that could impact practically every aspect of our lives and ways of life, for generations to come. 

Click here to register to testify orally and submit written testimony (select “COUNCIL meeting” in the dropdown menu, and then select “Resolution 23-308”).

Sample testimony:

Aloha Chair Weyer, Vice Chair Kiaʻāina, and Members of the Committee,

I strongly support Resolution 23-308 CD1, which is a common-sense recognition of the need for all of us - including all levels of government - to prevent invasive species such as the little fire ant and coconut rhinoceros beetle from permanently impacting practically every aspect of life in our islands - from our ecological integrity, to our cultural practices, food security, public health, and overall economy. 

Notably, Maui County has actively supported the Maui Invasive Species Council with support and funding of over $1M annually from multiple departments, allowing the Council and its 30 staff to take on coqui frogs, little fire ants, and now coconut rhinoceros beetles. Most recently, 175 acres of little fire ant-infested forest in Nāhiku were successfully treated, and so far, ongoing monitoring indicates that this eradication effort may have been successful. Oʻahu can do the same to protect our ʻāina and future generations from potentially devastating invasive pests, but only if the City does its part along with state and federal agencies and community organizations.  

[Optional: include your own personal story or observations here].

Accordingly, please PASS Resolution 23-308 CD1.

Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.

[Your name]

Support Invasive Pest Control Legislation

The Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, along with the Coordinating Group for Alien Pest Species (CGAPS) and  a number of other community organizations, is looking forward to supporting planned legislation to provide the Department of Agriculture with additional regulatory authorities and mandates to expediently target known and unknown invasive species. 

Such regulatory tools are going to be particularly critical as climate destabilization and ever-increasing visitor numbers and imported goods render our islands ever more vulnerable to new invasive species introductions - and make local agriculture and food security a vital priority for our future resilience.   

Be sure to sign up for our CapitolWatch email list at hawaiicapitolwatch.org, for action alerts and other opportunities to support these critical measures as they make their way through the lawmaking process.

Enlist Your Own Community in the Fight Against Invasives

Finally, while regulatory mechanisms and timely agency action are both critical in the fight against invasive species, government simply cannot succeed in this work alone.  Be sure to talk to your friends and neighbors about the myriad ways that invasive pests can impact our daily lives, and reach out to organizations such as CGAPS, the Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council, your island’s invasive species committee, and groups such as StopTheAnt.org, for information and resources on what we all can and must do, to identify, detect, and eradicate invasive species in our islands and communities.