#ohia quarantine

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture is reminding travelers attending the Merrie Monarch Festival next week that quarantine restrictions remain on the transport of ʻōhiʻa from Hawaiʻi Island due to the fungal plant disease, rapid ʻōhiʻa death (ROD), which is devastating to native forests. The Merrie Monarch Festival takes place in Hilo from April 20 to 26.

The Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture is reminding travelers attending the Merrie Monarch Festival this week that quarantine restrictions remain on the transport of ʻōhiʻa from Hawaiʻi Island due to the fungal plant disease, rapid ʻōhiʻa death, which is devastating to native forests. The Merrie Monarch Festival begins in Hilo on March 31 and ends April 6.

Travelers attending the Merrie Monarch Festival this week are reminded that quarantine restrictions remain on the transport of ʻōhiʻa from Hawaiʻi Island due to the fungal plant disease, rapid ʻōhiʻa death (ROD), which is devastating to native forests.

Any person who violates the ʻōhiʻa quarantine rule may be charged with a misdemeanor and fined anywhere from $100 to $10,000.

Crews of inspectors from across the state will be at airports in both Hilo and Kona to boost inspection capacity near the end of the Merrie Monarch Festival

The rules impose permanent quarantine restrictions on the intrastate movement on ʻōhiʻa and other material that may spread Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, also known as ʻŌhiʻa Wilt.

A new disease that has already killed hundreds of thousands of native ‘ōhi‘a trees in Hawai‘i this past year has prompted the organization of an interagency response to battle the threat.

Currently, the ʻōhiʻa wilt fungus is estimated to infest about 15,000 acres. So far, the disease has not been found on other islands.