#Maui Invasive Species Committee

Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) was detected in three landscaped ʻōhiʻa trees in Central Maui in February. ROD is a fungal disease that can kill a healthy ʻōhiʻa tree. First identified in Puna in 2014, the disease has since devastated thousands of acres of forest on Hawaiʻi Island, wiping out over a million trees.

Friends of Twin Falls is inviting Hawaiʻi residents to a special Kamaʻāina Exclusive event on Saturday, July 5, at Wailele Farms—commonly known as Twin Falls.

Nā Koa Manu Conservation announced a new strategic partnership with the Maui Invasive Species Committee, a respected leader in the protection of native Hawaiian ecosystems from the devastating impacts of invasive species.

Removing black wattle is important to fire mitigation in Kula because the invasive species burns fast and it chokes out more fire-resistant native species.

May is Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month.

Agriculture and wildlife officials are raising concerns after a red-vented bulbul was spotted near Kāʻanapali, Maui. This high-priority invasive pest appears on the Hawaiʻi Injurious Species list and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Top 100 Invasive Species list. The bird poses a serious threat to Maui’s agriculture as well as native ecosystems, according to the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

The Kula Community Watershed Alliance invites the public to its next Community Conversation on Thursday, March 6, at 6 p.m. via Zoom, featuring a presentation on Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death by Lissa Strohecker, public relations and education specialist at the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

The Haʻikū Community Association is inviting the community to a special 20th anniversary celebration of Kalakupua Playground, at “Giggle Hill,” this Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, from 10 a.m. to noon at the playground in Haʻikū. This event also doubles as the first public meeting of the year for the Haʻikū Community Association, promising a day of family-friendly activities, community connections and updates on community projects.

The least-virulent strain of the fungal infection known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) was detected late last month in three landscape ʻōhiʻa trees on the campus of a Maui elementary school.

A House bill introduced by Maui County and Oʻahu legislators is seeking $3 million each in the next two fiscal years for the state Department of Agriculture to prevent and control little fire ants and coconut rhinoceros beetles on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

Maui Ocean Center will host “Fins & Frights Night” from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 26, featuring costume contests, face painting, trick-or-treating throughout the park and a new “Coco” 3D experience inside the “Sphere de los Muertos.”

With October declared as “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaiʻi, a multi-agency effort has been launched to collect and control the pesky critters.

A field crew with the Maui Invasive Species Committee detected a small population of little fire ants (Wasmannia auropunctata) along Hāna Highway near the entrance of the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park on Aug. 26, 2024. This finding follows the late May detection of little fire ants or LFA at a county storage area on Waikaloa Road in Hāna. Officials say the ants likely spread via contaminated road fill to Kīpahulu within the last year. The infestation appears to be confined to approximately two-thirds of an acre, less than half a soccer field. 

Kupu, Hawai‘i’s leading conservation and environmental education nonprofit, is seeking applications for the Conservation Leadership Development Program (CLDP). Recent high school graduates, college graduates and young professionals looking to establish a career in conservation are strongly encouraged to apply by June 21.

Kupu, Hawai‘i’s leading conservation and environmental education nonprofit, is seeking applications for the Conservation Leadership Development Program (CLDP). Recent high school graduates, college graduates and young professionals looking to establish a career in conservation are strongly encouraged to apply by June 21.

The County of Maui Environmental Protection and Sustainability Division has announced the third installment of its Sustainability Together: Community-led Regenerative Action speaker series from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 30, at the Maui Ocean Center Sphere. This session, titled “Grassroots Guardians: Battling Invasives in Maui County,” is being held during Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month.

Lawmakers have unanimously passed and sent to Gov. Josh Green a bill for the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture to lead and coordinate the state’s invasive pest control and biosecurity efforts.

In a multi-agency effort, treatments, inspections and surveillance continue on Maui for coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRB). To date, no CRB have been confirmed on Maui since an initial detection of 17 live CRB larvae in one palm tree in Kīhei in November 2023. One dead CRB adult was found at a Maui retail store in September 2023. 

Maui Mauka hosts a conservation awareness training event from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 11, 2024 at the Ocean Science Discovery Center in Māʻalaea.

An interim rule has been established by the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture to restrict the movement of plants infested with little fire ants. The action comes after more reports of the invasive species of ants in windward O‘ahu.