HomeMy WebLinkAboutStormcrow, Kaleiheana
Tsuneda, Kaci
From:Kaleiheana Stormcrow <kaleiheanaapohaku@gmail.com>
Sent:Friday, July 17, 2026 11:20 AM
To:Council Testimony
Subject:Testimony: Resolution 603-26
Aloha e Chair Kagiwada, Vice Chair Kāneali ʻ i-Kleinfelder, and members of the Hawai ʻ i County Council
Committee on Governmental Relations and External Affairs,
My name is Kaleiheana Stormcrow and I am writing in STRONG SUPPORT of Resolution 603-26, urging
the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB) to take seriously the interim “emergency” coconut
rhinoceros beetle (CRB) rules for West Hawai ʻ i, adopted by the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity
(BAB) in March.
The CRB situation on Hawai ʻ i Island is dire. With CRB detections in a region that now stretches from
Waikōloa to Keauhou, we must do everything we can to stop or slow its spread - before it is too late.
Unfortunately, as outlined in this resolution, the need for much more timely action by DAB has been and
continues to be a critical gap in this all-hands-on-deck effort.
DAB’s months-long delays in advancing regulations to mitigate high-risk vectors, such as businesses
selling potted plants and other CRB host material, has contributed significantly to the current crisis. As
this resolution notes, it was only through the initiative of local nonprofits and a groundswell of public
support did DAB put the current CRB interim rules before the BAB.
Now, DAB’s continued foot-dragging in implementing these interim rules, adopted in March, is leaving
the entire island at daily risk of becoming the next CRB-infested region.
To be clear, the stakes are extremely high, and the threat is imminent. While the drier conditions in West
Hawai ʻ i still give us a chance to contain this devastating pest, should breeding populations of CRB be
established in places like Hilo, Puna, or anywhere else with high levels of vegetation, containment and
eradication may quickly become impossible. The meaningful implementation and enforcement of DAB’s
interim rules will give us the best chance at preventing such an outcome.
Please help us avoid the tragic consequences now unfolding on O ʻ ahu and Kaua ʻ i, where CRB has
become established after years of DAB inaction. Please pass this resolution and its common sense,
extremely reasonable call for DAB to treat our CRB situation as the emergency it is: by designating a
dedicated staff point of contact for the rules, raising public awareness of their requirements, and
enforcing their provisions as necessary.
Mahalo nui for the opportunity to testify.
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