#rapid ʻōhiʻa death

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.

Four students graduating from Kīhei Charter School have taken on different challenges posed by the Maui wildfires and other statewide issued in their Senior Graduation Defense presentations. Seniors—Taylor Guindon, Tara Zamani, Sundi King and Claire Eller—presented respective projects on wildfire prevention policies, microbe research in the fire aftermath, stories of resilience from wildfire survivors, and an ʻŌhiʻa restoration project sparked by a visit to Hawaiʻi Island.

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.

The spread of a fungal disease killing off hundreds of thousands of mature ‘ōhi‘a trees on Hawai‘i Island could be exacerbated by the presence of animals with hooves, according to a new collaborative study led by a geographer at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.