OISC crew rapelling to find miconia.

It's not easy being green. Conservation requires money and boots on the ground. Due to the economic downturn, Hawaii's conservation programs are feeling the financial pinch as they face large cuts in operating budgets. Additionally, funding intended for conservation may be diverted to other competing state public health and safety programs.

For the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, the Invasive Species Committees on five islands, the Hawaii Association of Watershed Partnerships, the Hawaii Youth Conservation Corps, and other natural resource protection programs, the pinch will affect more than just jobs, it will also affect Hawaii's natural resources, which will face degradation, and native species which will have increased habitat loss.

A tighter economy and anticipated budget cuts in state funding support of up to 73% will result in a serious setback in demonstrated achievements in conservation, and a loss of experienced, highly trained staff. Resource managers are concerned that the significant progress made in conserving the Islands' natural resources will lose ground and cost the state even more in the long run.

Without a continued commitment by leaders to fund the protection of natural areas and the environment, or a significant source or alternative funding, budget cuts will force large reductions in capacity and the potential shut-down of important projects. These projects protect and improve watersheds, address new infestations of coqui on Oahu, Kauai and Maui, protect threatened and endangered species, survey for bird- and mosquito-borne diseases, conduct research or agricultural pests, and train the next generation of conservation workers. Within a year, we will see layoffs of dozens of field professionals with specialized skills for treacherous backcountry work, pesticide application, survey, mapping, and data collection. Access to federal grants often requires matching funds from state agencies. State funds can sometimes leverage two to three times more federal money.

One example of a conservation success story is the reduction of miconia in Hawaii's forested/vegetated lands. Survey and control programs have slowed the spread of this species which threatens our island watersheds. The Smithsonian Institution calls miconia “the one plant that could really destroy the Hawaiian forest.”

The urgency to stop the spread of miconia is reinforced by the detrimental affects it has had on Tahiti, where miconia now dominates at least 70% of the forest. Biodiversity has plummeted. Landslides and erosion are now common. In Hawaii, ISC ground crews conduct miconia surveys throughout forested areas of Oahu; Maui; Kauai; Molokai and the Big Island, often tackling steep and muddy terrain in harsh conditions to ensure that every plant is found and destroyed. This work requires conservation professionals to ensure success.

The Natural Area Reserve Fund, which enables the State of Hawaii to meet legislative and public policy directives for protecting the environment, is facing at least a $6 million decrease in funding in 2010. To protect Hawaii's clean water, healthy forests, native plants, birds, and insects, and to ensure the management of invasive species, HISC and its collaborators are making the case to preserve the already significantly reduced funding and keep the conservation budget from being further reduced. Without natural resources there would be no cultural resources.

Aloha,

As we welcome in the New Year, it is clear that the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) made demonstrable progress protecting Hawaii from invasive species impacts in 2008. The HISC built on the efforts of each member agency's core work on invasive species, strategically filled gaps, increased capacity and encouraged innovation.

HISC statewide efforts on pest prevention, control, biocontrol, outreach, science, and technology continued making headway. A new HISC Strategy 2008-2013 has refocused our priorities. Interagency efforts targeted dozens of species including miconia, coqui, pampas, brown tree snake, ants, west Nile virus, and stinging nettle caterpillar. With our award winning data collection and GIS reporting we continue to observe measurable progress on these targets. The biosecurity bill to build the Department of Agriculture's invasive species prevention capacity became law. To fund this biosecurity law, the cargo fee bill was also passed.

Despite this year's achievements, we cannot ignore the economic slow-down that has impacted the state, the nation and the world. Economic hard times are anticipated to hurt conservation and invasive species efforts across the state. The HISC program is expecting cuts of 50% in the coming financial year. Similar cuts are expected for other conservation programs including those that propagate endangered plants, protect our watersheds and our natural area reserves. Individual programs could potentially lose most or all of their field staff, causing work to cease on some projects.

In light of projected budget cuts the HISC started communicating with partners to determine the areas of greatest need. HISC will continue building partnerships, seeking alternative funding sources, and identifying more cost-effective ways to fulfill our goals. Unless the funding situation changes, anticipated funding cuts will require laying off dozens of highly-trained invasive species staff. Some projects and activities will become less productive, while others will be scaled back or eliminated. Without continuous effort, key invasive species are expected to spread (e.g. miconia, coqui, and pampas grass) and years of progress will be lost or reversed.

We continue to be realistic about the potential obstacles and seek to maintain critical invasive species efforts. With your support we hope to make 2009 as successful as it can be.

Aloha & Happy New Year!

Patrick Chee
Invasive Species Coordinator

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