The state Department of Agriculture is seeking proposals from contractors to help combat three invasive pests across Hawaii with $2.8 million in taxpayer funds.
HDOA is seeking bids to fight the spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle, pictured at top right; little fire ant, middle; and two-lined spittle bug.
For coconut rhinoceros beetles, the agency is seeking proposals from experienced licensed contractors that can trim, remove, haul and properly dispose of coconut trees that are on public land on Oahu and Hawaii island and have been identified by HDOA. There is $600,000 available for the work on Oahu and $300,000 on Hawaii island.
Work to combat coconut rhinoceros beetles in Maui County and on Kauai mainly involves educating the landscape industry and communities on how to identify beetle damage and infestations as well as to prevent or remove breeding sites. The ability to trim or remove coconut trees identified by HDOA on public land is secondary. There is $100,000 available for this work in Maui County and the same amount on Kauai.
To combat little fire ants, HDOA is asking licensed pest control operators to recommend the best means to identify and treat outbreaks on residential properties 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 to combat two-lined spittle bugs is more limited. HDOA is seeking proposals from farmers, ranchers and researchers that have experience with this pest to determine the most cost- effective and efficient means to control populations of the bugs on Hawaii island. There is $600,000 available for this work.
More information about all three proposal requests can be found online at hands.ehawaii.gov/hands/opportunities Opens in a new tab.
The deadline to apply is noon Nov. 21.
Funding for all three projects was appropriated under a bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year, House Bill 2619, which aimed to appropriate $19.8 million to help HDOA step up efforts to combat the three pests and also brown tree snakes, coqui frogs and rose-ringed parakeets.
Part of the funding in the bill was to pay for 44 additional HDOA staff positions, including 22 plant quarantine inspectors, 11 environmental health specialists and five entomologists.
Gov. Josh Green used his line-item veto power to reduce the appropriation in the bill to $10 million in light of what he described as existing challenges to staff vacancies and other appropriations for biosecurity.
