Incorporating Best Management Practices into the contracting process protects Hawaii (and your business) from Invasive Species
Posted on Nov. 1, 2023 / Invasive Species / Subscribe 0
By: Lissa Strohecker
Hawaii is unlike any place in the world and in the course of doing business, you can protect the special place we call home and safeguard your clients and your business.
The Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), program staff from the Hawai'i Invasive Species Council (HISC), and the five Invasive Species Committees (ISCs) in Hawai'i have compiled a list of best management practices (BMPs) for incorporating into contracting. These BMPs address coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), little fire ants, and other hitchhiking pests like two-lined spittlebugs and coqui. Additionally, the BMPs provide guidance on fire risk assessments and non-invasive characteristics when selecting plants.
Figure 1. Forest Starr surveys for Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB) damage as part of the early detection efforts to prevent the spread of CRB. Including best management practices in contracting protects Hawaii from the spread of pests like CRB. Photo by Kim Starr.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture's re-issuance of the emergency quarantine measure restricting the movement of mulch and other potential CRB host materials from O'ahu is an important step, but by itself will not be adequate to the spread of this harmful pest.
Your kōkua helps ensure that pests are not unwittingly moved in palm trees, green waste, mulch, loose or bagged compost, bagged soils, and similar items. The BMPs are a resource that can be incorporated into the contracting practice. Find the full list of updated BMPs here: dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/files/2023/09/BMPs-for-Invasive-Species-Prevention-091223.pdf
Together we can protect Hawaii. Report a pest at www.643pest.org
Lissa Strohecker is the Public Relations and Education Specialist with the Maui Invasive Species Committee. She has twenty years of experience working with communities to identify, address, and prevent the spread of invasive species.
MISC is a project of the Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU) University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.
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