Visitors flock to the Hawaiian Islands for sun-soaked holidays filled with silky beaches, turquoise water, lush green hillsides — and naked palm trees missing their leafy crowns? That possibility has state officials worried because Hawaii’s iconic swaying palm trees are under attack. Their nemesis is the latest in a long line of invasive species...
Continue readingTag: Invasive Species
Ant infestation covers 4 acres in Waimanalo
HONOLULU — An extensive survey of an area in Waimanalo has determined approximately 4 acres are infested with little fire ants, tiny invasive ants that can inflict painful stings. Crews surveyed more than 50 acres from Kumuhau Street to Mahailua Street in Waimanalo and determined that the infestation area is on state land and...
Continue readingInvasive species bill has good intention, serious consequences
A Maui coffee farmer said controlling invasive species such as the notorious coqui frog and fire ant is a Big Island problem. “They already have them, we don’t. Why put the cost on us?” asked Bobbie Becker, owner of Maui Mountain Coffee Farm. “They’ve got it there.” Becker is a supporter of state Senate...
Continue readingInvasive species bill stirs debate
A Maui coffee farmer said controlling invasive species such as the coqui frog and fire ant is a Big Island problem. “They already have them, we don’t. Why put the cost on us?” asked Bobbie Becker, owner of Maui Mountain Coffee Farm. “They’ve got it there.” Becker is a supporter of state Senate Bill...
Continue readingMeasure in state Legislature targets alien little fire ants
A bill in the state House would provide $500,000 toward destroying little fire ants. Of all the ants in all the world, Hawaii had to get bitten by this one. Hawaii lawmakers on Monday advanced a bill aiming to study and kill the little fire ant, a hard-stinging pipsqueak that threatens the state’s economy...
Continue readingUSDA approves fireweed control
By HUNTER BISHOP Tribune-Herald staff writer hbishop@hawaiitribune-herald.com U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye announced Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a biocontrol project aimed at slowing the spread of fireweed, or Madagascar ragwort, on the islands of Hawaii and Maui. Fireweed is a noxious, invasive species that has infected an estimated 850,000 acres...
Continue readingAxis deer hunter feels unfairly targeted
Axis deer hunter feels unfairly targeted By TOM CALLIS Stephens Media tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com Shortly before Christmas 2009, a helicopter carrying four axis deer — three alive, one dead — landed on a Ka‘u ranch. Its cargo, brought in a metal crate from Maui, was unloaded and replaced with several mouflon sheep for the return trip....
Continue readingMonsanto Fund Donates $20,000 for Molokai Watershed Protection
Monsanto Fund Donates $20,000 for Molokai Watershed Protection Monsanto Molokai News Release The Monsanto Fund awarded a $20,000 grant to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) of Hawaii for watershed protection at Kamakou Preserve on Molokai. Since 2006, the Monsanto Fund has contributed a total of $130,000 to TNC’s protection and restoration efforts of critical watershed...
Continue readingCounty Begins Deer Harvest Cooperative
Imagine higher agricultural yields, fewer invasive species, and a new economic product that’s as versatile as it is plentiful: venison. That was the vision of the founders of the Maui Axis Deer Harvesting Cooperative (MADHC), a new initiative organized by the County of Maui. Its goal is to help farmers, ranchers and landowners control...
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