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Board directs staff to begin rulemaking to slow coconut rhinoceros beetle spread on Hawaii Island
Summary
After hours of technical review and extensive public testimony, the Board of Agriculture voted unanimously to initiate administrative rulemaking on an interim rule to restrict movement of CRB host materials on Hawai‘i Island and directed staff to return with a refined proposal by March 24, 2026.
The Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity on Jan. 27 directed department staff to begin administrative rulemaking to implement an interim rule aimed at slowing the spread of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) on Hawai‘i Island, after a lengthy presentation from Plant Quarantine Branch manager Jonathan Ho and broad public testimony from farmers, conservation groups and island residents.
Jonathan Ho told the board the petition — filed by Hawaii Wildlife Fund and Pohaku Pele Maka — requested an interim rule under state statute to require permits or compliance agreements to restrict the transport, receipt and processing of CRB host material such as live palms, decomposing plant materials, compost, wood chips and potting media from a designated infested area. Ho said the petition provides a useful starting point but contains…
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