The Department of Agriculture is seeking proposals from contractors to help combat three invasive pests in Hawaii with $2.8 million in taxpayer money.
HDOA is seeking bids to combat the spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle, pictured above right; small fire ant, center; and two-lined salivary bug.
For coconut rhinoceros beetles, the agency is seeking proposals from experienced licensed contractors who can prune, remove, transport and properly dispose of coconut trees located on public lands on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii and identified by HDOA. There is $600,000 available for the work on Oahu and $300,000 on Hawaii Island.
Coconut rhino beetle control work in Maui County and on Kauai primarily involves educating the landscape industry and communities on how to identify beetle damage and infestations and how to prevent or remove breeding sites. The ability to prune or remove HDOA-identified coconut trees on public property is secondary. There is $100,000 available for this work in Maui County and the same amount on Kauai.
To control small fire ants, HDOA is asking licensed pest control professionals to make recommendations on the best means to identify and treat outbreaks in homes and eliminate populations of the stinging pest. There is $600,000 available for the work on Oahu, $200,000 on Hawaii Island, $150,000 in Maui County and $150,000 on Kauai.
The help sought in the control of two-lined spittlebugs is more limited. HDOA is seeking proposals from farmers, ranchers and researchers with experience with this pest to determine the most cost-effective and efficient way to control populations of the insects on Hawaii Island. There is $600,000 available for this work.
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More information about all three proposal requests can be found online at.
The deadline to apply is November 21 at noon.
Funding for all three projects was allocated under a bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year, House Bill 2619, which aimed to allocate $19.8 million to help HDOA ramp up efforts to control the three pests, as well as brown tree snakes, coqui frogs and roses. ringed parakeets.
Some of the funding in the bill was intended to cover 44 additional HDOA staff positions, including 22 plant quarantine inspectors, 11 environmental health specialists and five entomologists.
Governor Josh Green used his veto to reduce the bill’s appropriations to $10 million in light of what he described as existing challenges to workforce vacancies and other biosecurity appropriations.
