Maui	  Invasive	  Species	  Committee	  (MISC):	  Highlights	  Significant	  progress	  on	  all	  target	  species	  protected	  important	  conservation	  and	  agricultural	  lands.	  
Highlights:	  •••••Approximately	  45,910	  acres	  surveyed	  for	  11	  invasive	  plant	  species.	  	  Total	  number	  of	  plants	  controlled	  =	  63,458	  (2,104	  mature).	  	  Number	  of	  dead	  birds	  submitted	  for	  WNV	  in	  6-­‐month	  period:	  26.	  	  Public	  contact	  through	  outreach	  &	  education	  efforts:	  3,250.	  	  Partnership	  support	  resulted	  in	  greater	  than	  a	  2:1	  match	  for	  all	  state	  funding.	  	  	  MISC	  conducted	  survey	  and	  control	  efforts	  for	  targeted	  invasive	  species	  on	  both	  Maui	  and	  Lanai.	  On	  Maui,	  these	  activities	  helped	  to	  protect	  eight	  unique	  ecosystems,	  which	  support	  79	  federally	  listed	  threatened	  and	  endangered	  plant	  species	  and	  a	  comparable	  number	  of	  candidate	  	  species	  and	  species	  of	  concern.	  Work	  concentrated	  on	  controlling	  the	  highly	  aggressive	  forest	  invader,	  Miconia	  calvescens,	  and	  the	  ecosystem-­‐modifying	  pampas	  grass	  (Cortaderia	  spp.)	  to	  protect	  the	  integrity	  of	  the	  east	  and	  west	  Maui	  watersheds.	  Important	  grazing	  areas	  were	  protected	  from	  the	  fire-­‐adapted	  fountain	  grass	  and	  control	  efforts	  against	  banana	  bunchy	  top	  virus	  helped	  limit	  continued	  spread	  to	  commercial	  and	  domestic	  banana	  production.	  	  	  The	  raucous	  coqui	  frog	  (Eleutherodactylus	  coqui)	  continued	  to	  be	  Maui’s	  top	  animal	  pest.	  
Efforts	  shifted	  to	  the	  infestation	  in	  Maliko	  Gulch,	  consistent	  with	  the	  Legislature’s	  recent	  mandate	  to	  control	  coqui	  on	  public	  land	  adjacent	  to	  communities.	  The	  eastern	  half	  of	  the	  heavily	  infested	  gulch	  is	  state	  land	  which	  borders	  the	  Haiku	  community.	  Other	  population	  centers	  on	  Maui	  have	  been	  eradicated	  or	  fully	  contained.	  	  	  Lanai	  has	  37	  endangered	  or	  threatened	  plant	  species.	  After	  years	  of	  grazing	  by	  introduced	  ungulates,	  Lanai	  has	  a	  greatly	  diminished	  forest	  area,	  underscoring	  the	  importance	  of	  protecting	  the	  watershed	  from	  additional	  invaders.	  Work	  on	  Lanai	  focused	  on	  two	  species:	  fountain	  grass	  and	  ivy	  gourd.	  Successful	  control	  efforts	  against	  fountain	  grass	  (Pennisetum	  setaceum)	  are	  protecting	  the	  open	  hunting	  areas	  of	  Kanepuu	  from	  this	  fire-­‐prone	  invader.	  An	  infestation	  of	  ivy	  gourd	  (Coccinia	  grandis)	  has	  been	  greatly	  reduced	  in	  the	  Manele	  area	  through	  persistent	  control	  action.	  Lanai	  remains	  free	  from	  the	  devastating	  banana	  bunchy	  top	  virus.	  Periodic	  surveys	  of	  all	  banana	  production	  on	  Lanai	  helped	  protect	  the	  agricultural	  industry	  from	  BBTV	  and	  provided	  an	  opportunity	  for	  growers	  to	  provide	  clean	  tissue	  for	  production	  elsewhere	  in	  the	  State.	  	  Progress	  on	  control	  efforts	  in	  Maui	  County	  are	  reviewed	  by	  subject	  matter	  experts	  during	  regular	  Committee	  meetings.	  Quarterly	  reports	  detail	  project	  activities	  and	  are	  available	  on	  the	  MISC	  website.	  All	  tabular	  and	  spatial	  data	  are	  ported	  annually	  to	  the	  statewide	  ISC	  database,	  which	  is	  managed	  by	  the	  U.S.	  Geological	  Survey’s	  Pacific	  Basin	  Information	  Node.	  Selection	  of	  target	  species	  is	  evaluated	  during	  an	  annual	  priority-­‐setting	  workshop,	  based	  on	  a	  New	  Zealand	  model.	  
Miconia:	  • Ground	  and	  aerial	  crews	  surveyed	  23,766	  acres	  for	  miconia.	  	  • Over	  57,700	  miconia	  plants	  were	  controlled,	  including	  566	  mature	  ones.	  	  • Aerial	  control	  efforts	  benefited	  from	  substantial	  support	  and	  involvement	  by	  the	  National	  	  Park	  Service.	  	  • A	  partner	  project	  with	  Hana	  Ranch	  and	  Natural	  Resources	  Conservation	  Service	  (NRCS)	  	  funding	  supported	  one	  additional	  staff	  and	  aerial	  operations.	  	  	  Coqui	  Frog:	  	  • Five	  population	  centers	  on	  Maui	  have	  been	  eradicated,	  meaning	  it	  has	  been	  more	  than	  	  one	  year	  since	  the	  last	  vocalization	  was	  heard.	  	  • Eight	  population	  centers	  have	  been	  contained.	  	  • Work	  continued	  in	  Maliko	  Gulch.	  Crews	  delimited	  the	  extent	  of	  	  the	  lower	  infestation	  of	  the	  gulch,	  which	  represents	  spread	  within	  the	  gulch.	  Where	  feasible,	  initial	  control	  work	  occurred	  in	  these	  lower	  infestations.	  	  • All	  background	  work	  for	  the	  coqui-­‐free	  certification	  program	  has	  been	  completed,	  including	  surveys	  and	  production	  of	  marketing	  materials.	  The	  program	  will	  be	  launched	  officially	  in	  October	  2008.	  Approximately	  23	  nurseries	  and	  plant	  providers	  are	  official	  participants	  in	  the	  program.	  	  • More	  funding	  is	  needed	  to	  aggressively	  manage	  the	  Maliko	  wildland	  infestation.	  	  Molokai/Maui	  Invasive	  Species	  Committee	  (MoMISC):	  	  Highlights	  	  	  Molokai	  is	  richly	  endowed	  with	  rare	  native	  plants,	  including	  60	  federally	  listed	  plant	  taxa,	  52	  candidate	  and	  species-­‐of-­‐concern	  plant	  taxa,	  as	  well	  as	  rare	  invertebrates	  and	  birds.	  
There	  is	  broad	  agreement	  on	  Molokai	  that	  watershed	  protection,	  the	  home	  for	  many	  of	  these	  rare	  species,	  is	  the	  Island’s	  top	  environmental	  priority,	  and	  that	  agriculture	  is	  the	  heart	  of	  the	  Island.	  Control	  efforts	  on	  Molokai	  focused	  on	  protecting	  both	  the	  watershed	  and	  agricultural	  interests.	  	  	  Much	  effort	  is	  focused	  on	  preventing	  the	  worst	  invaders	  that	  have	  gained	  a	  foothold	  elsewhere	  in	  the	  islands	  from	  becoming	  established	  on	  Molokai.	  Annual	  aerial	  surveys	  of	  the	  forested	  watershed	  are	  needed	  to	  ensure	  early	  detection	  of	  plants,	  such	  as	  miconia.	  Community	  outreach	  and	  education	  has	  been	  a	  high	  priority	  to	  help	  prevent	  the	  introduction	  of	  new	  threats.	  MoMISC	  has	  successfully	  partnered	  with	  other	  state	  and	  federal	  agencies	  to	  eradicate	  several	  harmful	  species	  and	  to	  survey	  for	  agricultural	  pests.	  
Progress	  on	  target	  species	  included:	  • Over	  11,780	  acres	  surveyed	  for	  invasive	  plants	  and	  animals.	  	  • Total	  number	  of	  plants	  controlled	  =	  2,961	  (805	  mature).	  	  • Evaluation	  of	  albizia	  (Falcataria	  moluccana)	  as	  a	  new	  target	  species.	  	  • Extensive	  survey	  and	  control	  for	  banana	  bunchy	  top	  virus.	  	  	  Banana	  Bunchy	  Top	  Virus	  	  • MoMISC	  partnered	  with	  federal	  and	  state	  agricultural	  staff	  and	  MISC	  to	  conduct	  surveys	  on	  Molokai	  for	  BBTV.	  	  • Approximately	  2,204	  acres	  were	  surveyed	  and	  462	  infected	  plants	  were	  treated.	  	  • Staff	  conducted	  educational	  outreach	  during	  door-­‐to-­‐door	  surveys	  about	  the	  disease.	  
Other	  Accomplishments	  	  • Delimiting	  surveys	  were	  conducted	  to	  determine	  the	  extent	  of	  an	  albizia	  infestation	  and	  assess	  feasibility	  of	  control.	  Over	  83	  acres	  were	  surveyed	  with	  initial	  control	  of	  4	  trees.	  MoMISC	  agreed	  to	  take	  this	  on	  as	  a	  new	  target.	  	  • Approximately	  8,705	  acres	  were	  surveyed	  for	  miconia	  and	  other	  forest	  invaders.	  	  • MoMISC	  officially	  declared	  pampas	  grass	  eradicated	  from	  Molokai.	  	  	  Public	  Outreach	  	  • MoMISC	  maintained	  informational	  displays	  at	  the	  airport	  kiosk,	  public	  wharf,	  and	  community	  boards.	  	  • Outreach	  articles	  were	  published	  in	  the	  local	  newspaper.	  	  • Staff	  participated	  in	  the	  annual	  Earth	  Day	  event	  on	  Molokai.	  	  • Quarterly	  articles	  on	  invasive	  species	  were	  published	  in	  The	  Nature	  Conservancy’s	  newsletter.