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Committee advances bill to create endemic plant seed‑bank pilot; CTAHR estimates $6 million startup cost
Summary
HB 1337 would create an endemic plant seed‑bank pilot to preserve and enable reforestation of Hawaii's endemic plants; CTAHR told lawmakers a large refrigerated storage facility and ongoing seed production would be required and estimated about $6 million to start on one island.
The House Committee on Higher Education advanced HB 13‑37 HD1 to require the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) to establish an endemic plant seed‑bank pilot program to preserve and promote planting of species native and endemic to Hawaii.
Dean Grewal of CTAHR testified in support but said the program requires large‑scale refrigerated storage and seed‑production capacity to support reforestation rather than only small‑scale germplasm preservation. “We would need to create a large scale storage facility for seed because this is not for just maintaining genetic material. This is to reforest, to re‑invigorate,” Grewal said.
Grewal told the committee CTAHR has land and facilities but estimated a conservative startup cost of about $6,000,000 for a single‑island storage and production setup, and said the number of full‑time equivalent staff needed is undetermined. Matthew Kier, a botanist with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and other conservation partners testified in support, and committee members noted there are already several small‑scale germplasm facilities in the state but they lack capacity for reforestation-scale production.
The committee voted to pass HB 13‑37 HD1 as is; the committee report will note CTAHR’s cost estimate and the bill’s defective date for further discussion.
