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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0490.004 2004-2006 lest'imoriy~-by~Gbl'~ S. Sdnsone (Kaioko Mauka Coqui Coalition Group) h'ax to: 808! 901-891 o: Hawaii County Council Committee on Environmental ' h~anagement 12th Session f3ate_ No~~emo~e!' 8. 2005 at 3:00 PM ~omm.490: `Res: 19i~-OS A RESOWTION TO SUPPORT THE COQUI FROG WORKING GROUP'S GONSOL{DAT~D EFFORTS TO CONTROL AND ERADICATE COQUI FROGS iN HAWAI'I COUNTY. support this ~esoluticsn. My testimony is as follows: ')r, ~ il4 27rh '004 Er. Case r4equested The Honorable Ann veneman, Secretary IJS Dept. of Agriculture for emergency csssistance t ~ deal with ±he Coqui issue in Nawaii. Again on Sept. 8, 2~u4 Senator ©aniei Inouye, Senaror Danie° Akaka, Neil Abercrombie :ar v ,d Case again cq~~ested emergency assistance to ~JPaI with the c,^~q~!~ s^t+.~ation. The KaloKe ".~:auka Coqui Coalition has been diligently working on the Coqui populaticr~ in Kaioko Mauka are for wer a year. But we need ~e+p a tr~e isi,;nd does to stop spreading them from one area io another. ' he way that this can be achieved and must be is to first of ail target the nurseries. I personally have contacted Wal-Mart, KOMar+, 4io"re Depc1 and Lowes both here in Kona and to the corporaie a`fic~ with no response. These nurseries and the nurseries in Nibs continue to sell products that further pass On the Coqui population Gr7d this has to stop. ! suggest tha ~ f~~e 'ollowing happen: Comm. No. Y9 Ref. Tom LL° L~ 39b~ C'~N L6959ZE 9E~80 S00d/L0/iT l; Mcke those ~?urseries with wen one coqui frog immediately erauicale l~-~~ frog, or pay fines within 2 w®oks. If this problem is not taken care of with in two weeks, the fine is increased antl the nursery will be prohibited from selling products until the frogs are eradicated. ~r Any nursery on {ease land must make themselves coqui free with 3 months or risk the loss of their lease, and they cannot ship any plants out of the nursery until they are coqui free. ;one ieasehcid piece of property that this should immediately apply to is at the bottom of Kaiminani. 3. ~,fl n.~rseries and plant sales outlets must have an active oci~:i eradl,:ation program underway or they cannot sell plants. 4. Do ^.ighttimF= inspections of nurseries and places where putiliC Can cr da tJUy plants and prohibit the sales if the area is found to ba infested. It's very simple. Prohibit the movement Gf plants not certified to be coqui free on or off' the island. Ail n~irseries and their vendors should be under strict res'r!.~tions. 6. Force nurseries to curtail shipping until coqui are eradicated on tt~~eir pr©r>erty or face stiff fines. 7. ,III fines tho' are collected should be used for eradication efforts. All nurseries should be inspected monthly. Making it illegal to spread coGu~• Imposing stiff fines fcr violators. Issuing *inuncial splay incentives for nurseries that actively Control coqui prob~ems by Spraying or other rnelhods that have been proven successful. 9_ incoming pan's- INSPECT ALL INCOMING PLANTS TO THE STATE AND ~"OUNTY. Having two areas of inspection will aid 'n keeping .:-:oqui out. AND HAVE MANDATORY "HOT WATER WASH" OF ALL INCOMING PLANTS TO THE STATE AND COUNTY. P~~^ake it illegal to import Coqui. Although this is not an `~~ssue. I} s fiotally inexcusablE tc~ have any more coqui brcuaht in ~ Hawaii. Under no circumstances should more Eft 001 L6959LE 9£ ~80 5BBZ 29!LL coq! be imported into Hawaii. STOP shipments of plants that come frUm know problem areas/nurseries. l O.Perform a mass check out of back pack sprayers with auantity for back, pack sprayer premixed packets of coqui killer concoction available to people who will head neighborhood campaigns to kill coqui frogs. l .An administrafive rule change which makes it possible for neighboring property owners to at~ack the coqui problem an any property where the current property owner is doing noth ng. 12.Ma~•: i+ illegal for property owners to harbor the coqui frogs. 13.CLf~~ to publicly detail the coqui hotspots, and name the prop arty ovrners. shame fhern publicly). l a.Force people toe allow eradica?ors both public and volerteer, crFto itreir land to eradicate frogs. tS.Start with Maui's example. i ~.~rec+ signs one the road! Uke the banana virus signs. People are up in Ka!oko picking and digging up plants everyday...,righ` in the infestation areas. This will be unpr~pular l~~,rf they are unknowing spreading the eggs/frogs! i?.Educate the public: rar~io and television spots regarding the seriousness or the coqui frog problem, what can be done and ~rhar tc, look for when buying plants and how careful the, must l:Q. Informing people that it is not prudent to share plants -wit"~ each ether if there is known coqui activ'rfy n their areas. 18.Sta~e:/County spraying for the Coqui. Financial assistance to co~~~~nunities that have established programs for coqui abr.'emen* l9.lt is riot acceptable for the State c~f County to leave it up to a te.v community groups to be the ones to spray with no en-~ .n sire ~t the coqui are continued to spread. 20.Ha~~u nurser es ~GST a sign that they are coqui free and ~~ert~'ied with last inspection dates. Please accept my *~stimony for public record. Thank you, Gale A. San>~ne t0 3E~b~ J~± L69S9ZE 9E~89 SBO~/LN!IT