VOTING MEMBERSNEIL ABERCROMBIEWILLIAM J. AILA, JRDEPARTMENT OF LAND & NATURALRESOURCES

GOVERNOR OF HAWAIISHAN TSUTSUISCOTT ENRIGHTHAWAII DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

LIEUTENANT GOVERNORGARY GILL
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
MARIA GALLO, PhD
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘IHAWAI‘I INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL
1151 PUNCHBOWL ST, #325
HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813

LEO ASUNCION
OFFICE OF PLANNING, DEPARTMENT OF
BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT &TOURISMDAVID RODRIGUEZDEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

October 28, 2014SUBMITTALTO:

Co-chairs and Members
Hawaii Invasive Species Council
State of Hawaii

FROM:

Joshua Atwood, Invasive Species Coordinator
Hawaii Invasive Species Council / Department of Land and Natural Resources

SUBJECT:

Requesting a Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) study to update the 2002 LRB
report, Filling the Gaps in the Fight Against Invasive Species that describes thecurrent capacity and funding needs to address invasive species issues in Hawaii

BackgroundIn response to Senate Concurrent Resolution 45 H.D. 1 (2001), the Legislative Reference Bureau(LRB) prepared a report titled Filling the Gaps in the Fight Against Invasive Species. This
document, published in 2002, provided a clear description of the invasive species problem in
Hawaii, and identified associated economic costs, environmental impacts, and health issues. The
2002 report further identified state, county, and federal agencies having responsibilities related toinvasive species, assessed gaps in invasive species management, and estimated the total annual
cost of addressing invasive species in Hawaii across all state, county, and federal programs.
A key recommendation from the 2002 report was the creation of an interagency council modeled
after the National Invasive Species Council. The report was critical to the establishment of theHawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) in 2003, and the information regarding the cost offunding invasive species programs has been a key reference point for advocating for interagency
funding for the HISC.
In the 12 years since the LRB published Filling the Gaps in the Fight Against Invasive Species,
the invasive species problem in Hawaii has changed substantially. New pests have arrived within
Hawaii, such as the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle, Myoporum thrips, and devil weed. Some
species that were present in Hawaii in 2002 in limited areas, such as the Little Fire Ant, havedrastically increased their geographic range within the State. The organizational and fiscal
landscape of invasive species management has also changed since 2002. The HISC has become
an active mechanism for establishing invasive species policy as well as a primary funder ofinteragency projects. Over the same time period, federal funding for invasive species programsin Hawaii has declined, and capacity for core State functions such as agricultural inspection andvector control have seen drastic changes.

A new LRB study, building upon the data generated by their 2002 report, would provide a
critical update to this foundational document. This information would document areas ofprogress or regress since the publication of the 2002 study, and would help identify current
management gaps. An updated estimate of the total cost needed to address invasive species
across federal, state, and county programs would provide critical data to support budgetary
requests and would allow the HISC to strategically address resource shortfalls.
Requested Action
A draft HISC resolution is attached to this submittal. This resolution would request that the LRBproduce a new report building upon the 2002 report Filling the Gaps in the Fight Against
Invasive Species.

VOTING MEMBERS
NEIL ABERCROMBIEWILLIAM J. AILA, JR
DEPARTMENT OF LAND & NATURALRESOURCES

GOVERNOR OF HAWAIISHAN TSUTSUISCOTT ENRIGHTHAWAII DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

LIEUTENANT GOVERNORGARY GILL
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
MARIA GALLO, PhD
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘IHAWAI‘I INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL1151 PUNCHBOWL ST, #325
HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813

LEO ASUNCION
OFFICE OF PLANNING, DEPARTMENT OF
BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT &TOURISMDAVID RODRIGUEZ
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONRESOLUTION 14-2
REQUESTING A LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU STUDY TO UPDATE THE 2002
REPORT TITLED “FILLING THE GAPS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INVASIVE SPECIES”
WHEREAS, the Legislative Reference Bureau, in response to Senate Concurrent Resolution 45
H.D. 1 (2001), published a 2002 report titled Filling the Gaps in the Fight Against InvasiveSpecies; andWHEREAS, this report has provided critical data regarding the costs associated with invasivespecies, funding needed to address invasive species issues, and key recommendations for fillingorganizational gaps associated with invasive species management; andWHEREAS, the invasive species problem in Hawaii has changed substantially since thepublication of this report in 2002; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that the Hawaii Invasive Species Council requests that the Legislative
Reference Bureau undertake a new study to update their 2002 report Filling the Gaps in theFight Against Invasive Species to reflect the current state of the invasive species problem inHawaii; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Invasive Species Council suggests that the new
study provide updated information within the areas addressed by the original 2002 report,including but not limited to:
1. The scope of the invasive species problem on global and local levels
2. The economic and environmental costs to Hawaii associated with invasive species
3. Health and safety issues for Hawaii associated with invasive species
4. State and federal agencies having responsibilities concerning the invasive species
problem
5. Gaps and leaks in the present system
6. Funding for invasive species programs; andBE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to theGovernor of Hawaii, the President of the State Senate, the Speaker of the State House ofRepresentatives, and the director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Adopted by the Hawaii Invasive Species Council on the following date: ___________

William J. Aila, Jr., Dept. of Land & Natural
Resources

Scott Enright, Dept. of Agriculture

Gary Gill, Dept. of HealthDavid Rodriguez, Dept. of Transportation

Leo Asuncion, Office of Planning, Dept. ofBusiness, Economic Development, and Tourism

Maria Gallo, Ph.D., University of Hawaii