Board hears invasive-species update on spittlebug, little fire ant, tree removals and digital declaration pilot

Jonathan Ho, Plant Quarantine Branch manager with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, briefed the State of Hawaii Board of Agriculture on ongoing invasive-species work, including contracts and pilot programs aimed at limiting spread and improving response.

Ho said the department closed an RFP for a two-line spittlebug contract with a budget of $240,000. Two proposals showed promise but exceeded the awarded amount; the department plans to use the available $240,000 for one contract and to fund the other proposal with departmental funds while contracts are drafted.

Ho described a Little Fire Ant (LFA) contract valued at about $1.1 million with a contractor identified in the staff report. Plant quarantine staff began treatments at verified sites and the department has been coordinating with island invasive-species committees for site selection on Maui and Kauai. Ho said the department has received public response to a recent press release announcing the LFA program: about 22 phone calls and 73 emails, primarily from Oahu, including several strongly critical contacts from Hawaii Island. The report said the contractor is working with the Hawaii Ant Lab for training.

On Hawai‘i Island, Ho said the department will pivot from attempting to treat many individual houses to working with county officials to identify public areas for treatment, a change he described as a pragmatic approach given the islandwide population of ants.

Ho also described a planned tree-removal contract with HTM contractors focused on about 80 trees, primarily in central and west Oahu, and said stump-grinding issues had caused scheduling hiccups; removals are expected to begin in April or May. A pest-diagnostics contract closed with three bids; one bidder was satisfactory and a contract was being drafted.

Ho outlined a pilot program launched March 1 to digitize passenger declaration forms (referred to in the presentation as the Akamai pilot). He said about 35% of domestic arriving flights are currently in the pilot. The pilot's success depends on airlines providing key data fields the department needs; where airlines do not provide required information, the digital workflow is impaired and staff are working with the vendor and IT to address the gaps.

Ho briefly summarized pending biosecurity legislation the department is tracking: House Bill 427 and Senate Bill 1100. He said the bills are competing versions of broad biosecurity proposals. The House measure is described in the staff presentation as narrower and would rename the department to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, create a deputy of biosecurity and add an emergency declaration process. The Senate measure is described as more comprehensive, including provisions for transitional facilities, private inspectors for nonagricultural goods, rapid-response teams and training. Ho said both bills seek to make permanent positions and funding created by Act 231 and to retain roughly 42 positions and program funding created last year.

Ho told the board that where program rollout has provoked public concern, staff are responding to inquiries and working with island partners to refine delivery. Board members did not take formal action on the update; Ho invited members to email follow-up questions.

Context

Ho framed the department's approach as emphasizing targeted treatments where they can provide the greatest benefit and working with island invasive-species committees and county partners to deploy limited resources effectively. The presentation covered procurement status, early public response and operational adjustments in response to island-scale infestation patterns.