Members of the Kauai Invasive Species Committee will be working with the O‘ahu-based Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), who have received $205,000 in government grants to educate the public about invasive species and how residents can help to
Members of the Kauai Invasive Species Committee will be working with the O‘ahu-based Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), who have received $205,000 in government grants to educate the public about invasive species and how residents can help to protect Hawai‘i.
The statewide “Silent Invasion” media campaign is scheduled to start in the spring of 2005.
CGAPS will decide how to use the funds, but the Kaua‘i group will “have input for public education programs for Kaua‘i,” said Keren Gundersen, project coordinator with Kauai Invasive Species Committee.
Gundersen said her group focuses on matters that are directly related to Kaua‘i, and has received other funding for other projects from the same government groups that are providing the grant funds for the latest public-education program.
CGAPS officials announced the O‘ahu organization received $205,000 in grants to conduct the media campaign.
Christy Martin, public information officer with CGAPS, said funds the group has received include $80,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, $35,000 from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, and an additional $40,000 from the U.S. Department of Interior to “aid in outreach primarily about brown tree snakes (from Guam).”
The snakes have virtually decimated the bird population of Guam. State officials are concerned that snakes can stow aboard airplanes or ships that move between Guam and Hawai‘i. Once here, the snakes can set up colonies that could later attack birds in Hawai‘i, including rare native birds. On Guam, reports of brown tree snakes biting humans are common.In addition to the other government grants, a $50,000 grant from the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s Natural Resources Program will be used to get the message out through major local networks in Hawai‘i that efforts need to be made to halt the spread of invasive species and pests in the state.
Some of the catchy phrases that will be used in the broadcast are “Protect Hawai‘i — Don’t Plant a Pest,” “Protect Hawai‘i — Don’t Pack a Pest,” and “Protect Hawai‘i — Report a Pest.”
In a news release, Martin noted that close to 40 percent of the invasive plants that threaten Hawai‘i’s forests and natural areas were brought to the state and planted in yards and gardens as ornamentals.
Owners of Hawai‘i nurseries and garden shops unwittingly sold invasive ornamental plants to people who think the plants are safe for the environment, Martin said.Hawai‘i residents can help protect Hawai‘i by asking for non-invasive (native or endemic) plants.
Other parts of the education campaign will inform residents that they could unknowingly carry unwanted pests into the state that are hidden in fruits, plants and soil that come from abroad and are used in Hawai‘i, Martin said.
She said people who fly to Hawai‘i from overseas can protect the state by listing all plant and pests on agricultural forms before they land at the Honolulu International Airport.
People also can help by calling authorities when they come across a pest. A new, toll-free “pest hotline number” will be established soon, Martin said.
Rex Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, applauded the government entities that put up the grant funds.
“In reviewing this proposal with the members of our National Resources Advisory Group, it became clear that the campaign offered a way to leverage HTA’s available funds with many other partners to impact all of Hawai‘i’s natural resources,” Johnson said.
Contact Martin at 1-808-722-0995, or at christym @rocketmail.com, for more information .
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@ pulitzer.net.
