Little Fire Ant Bill Shot Down

[Chunkster]

A very worthy bill proposed by Sen. Russell Ruderman to do a pilot project to control LFA in Big Island parks died in committee because the majority (read Oahu) did not want to fund it:

http://bigislandnow.com/2014/04/29/bill-...committee/

Of course when these horrible pests show up in any noticeable numbers on Oahu, no expensel will be spared to eradicate. If I may borrow a Hawaiian expression, "Auwe!!!"

Thanks for trying, Russell.

[PauHana]

It is too early in the process.
It needs to become a big enough problem to qualify for federal money, and justify a new department to deal with it.

[kalakoa]

"Wait until it's a big enough problem" is how the Big Island got infested with LFA -- not on Oahu, so not a problem, right?

Now, they have LFA on Oahu too...

Watch carefully as the Rhino Beetle is "a huge problem" simply because it hit Oahu first...

[csgray]

Maybe people should start mailing LFAs to the Oahu legislators. Freeze them first so they are dead, but a few 5 lb coffee cans of LFAs might wake them up about the issue.

Carol

[Mendo]

Although this bill died, the fire ant projects will still get funded through the $5 million invasive species bill that did pass. This bill was an attempt to carve out some specific extra funds. But with the LFA showing up on Oahu now, the projects are top priority. Too bad the LFA didn't grab the state's attention when it was just Big Island... now keeping them off Oahu will be much harder.

[pahoated]

The article says the House Bill 1716 did pass and that is $5M for all the islands' invasive prevention programs. Oahu well recognizes Hawaii island, and Puna in particular, as where little fire ants, coqui frogs, albizia trees and rat lung worm were introduced.

The LFA bill had the screwy special interest factor put in, funding for training canine LFA hunters. Dogs are getting bitten in the eye by LFA and sometimes going blind, snooping around on the ground. That was bizarre to put that in.

Green and Ruderman put in another bill that was Puna specific, basically ackowledging Puna is the infected area with the highest concentration of harmful invasives, so it would quarantine Puna from the rest of the state. It didn't pass:

quote:

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http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=2347&year=2014
SB 2347
Allows designation of quarantine areas and establishment of compliance agreements for transportation of certain articles. Establishes penalties for violations.

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The other invasive species eradication effort bill that passed allows the use of a fungus pesticide on the coffee borrer beetles.

quote:

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http://westhawaiitoday.com/community-bul...l-approved
Coffee berry borer bill approved
A bill that would appropriate $500,000 to subsidize purchase of pesticide to combat the coffee berry borer was approved Tuesday in a final floor vote by the state legislators. House Bill 1514 unanimously passed its final reading as amended in its final committee approval last week.

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So, the coffee farmers of Kona have banned GMO for coffee plants but now have no choice but to introduce a non-indigenous predatory fungus from Africa to the west side. This is because somebody on the west side decided to smuggle in some African bean plants. Oahu is dealing with a bigger problem with a coconut beetle:

http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/blog/main/destruc...nut-trees/
DESTRUCTIVE BEETLES FOUND ON OAHU COCONUT TREES

"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"

[kalakoa]

As I suggested above, watch the reaction to rhino beetle very closely -- this invasive species has the potential for more destruction than all others put together: palm trees are Hawaii's most important crop, because when cultivated properly, they attract tourists.