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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0222.000 2012-2014 Margaret Wille ��w.os p.., Phone No. Hilo: (808)961 8027 Council Member <R '� +o'• Phone No. Waimea: (808)887-2043 District 9-North and South Kohala ""�y�:�'°' Fax No.: (808) 887-2072 •� � "-,,'/, l•�: E-Mail: mwille @co.hawaii.hi.us •us•N�r► HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai'1 Hawaii County Building Holomua Center West Hawai`i Civic Center Bldg.A 25 Aupuni Street 64-1067 Mamalahoa Highway, Suite C-5 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Waimea, Hawaii 96743 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii,96740 TO: J Yoshimoto, Council Chair and Members of the Hawai`i County Coun it FROM: Margaret Wille, Council Member r t DATE: March 15, 2013 SUBJECT: Little Red Fire Ant Discussion • I request 60 minutes for a discussion to allow the Department of Research and Development to provide an overview of the Little Fire Ant (LFA) status in the County of Hawai`i. The scope of discussion would include a review of Resolution 816-08, a progress report on the LFA taskforce, the status of containment and control of LFA including the mapping of infestations, an assessment of the current level of threat caused by this insect in this county; the status of LFA at County mulch facilities, public education progress, and the status of State and Federal assistance. Also attached is Resolution 816-08, for informational purposes. Please place this matter on the appropriate April 8, 2013 Committee. If there are any questions please call me or my staff at (808) 887-2043. Thank you. MW/dh Att. Comm. No Ref. To: • '' s Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Ref. Date M R 21 2013 Hawai`i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer COUNTY OF HAWAII •. ; STATE OF HAWAI I . ....7:-....:00....:RESOLUTION NO. 816 08 A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE COUNTY OF HAWAI`I TO IMMEDIATELY INITIATE A CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT HAWAII ISLAND FROM THE INVASIVE LITTLE FIRE ANT. WHEREAS, section 2.1 of the Hawai`i County General Plan, Economic; Introduction and Analysis, states, in part: "The opportunities for the expansion of agriculture on the Big Island seem to be immense. The demand for fresh, locally grown products continues to grow as restaurants, grocery stores and hotels seek the highest quality products for their guests. Export products grown mostly on the Big Island, such as coffee, papaya, macadamia nuts, and flowers, also continue to expand. These commodities and others, such as ginger, guava and other tropical fruits, have potential for growth.... Concerns regarding the transmission of plant pests and diseases during export have or could be adequately addressed by current treatment or processing technologies. The development of new protocol and processing facilities for quarantine treatment will assure the further expansion of the agricultural industry." (pages 2-3 and 2-4); and WHEREAS, the Puna, Kona, South Kohala, and North Kohala community development plans provide for stewardship of the environment consistent with the County's public trust responsibility,protection of agriculture, and protection of the health and safety of residents; and WHEREAS, the Hawai`i County Council acknowledges that county government should take an active role in the effort to protect tourism, commerce, specialty crops such as Kona coffee and taro, growth of a viable local food supply, and the quality of life of the people of the island from the devastating effects of the Little Fire Ant; and WHEREAS, according to "Field Suppression of the Invasive Ant Wasmannia auropunctata(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Tropical Fruit Orchard in Hawai`i" published in 2008 in the Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 101, pages 1068-1074: • The Little Fire Ant (Wasmannra auropunctata), a native species of Central and South America, was introduced to Hawai`i Island approximately nine years ago, and in the absence of natural predators, now threatens to blanket the island; • Little Fire Ants (LFA) dominate other ant species, covering every square inch of vegetation, including trees and shrubs, in areas they colonize, particularly in the district of Puna; • LFA are easily dislodged by wind,pruning of trees, or fruit harvesting so that they drop onto the clothing of farm workers, where they become trapped and inflict painful bites resulting in a variety of symptoms including intense itching, swelling, and blistering; • LFA bites have been known to cause blindness in animals and decimate populations of birds and soft-bodied organisms, and many myrmecologists (ant scientists) regard the LFA as the worst possible species of invasive ant; • It has become difficult to find labor to harvest fruit in other areas that have LFA infestations, such as the citrus groves in Florida, due to the swarms of stinging ants; and • Without immediate and decisive action on the part of the county, LFA infestations could have a disastrous impact on Hawai`i Island's fruit and coffee industries, tourism, the local food supply, and the quality of life of county residents; and WHEREAS, incidences of persons having been severely bitten have been reported not only in Puna but also across the island in other districts; and WHEREAS, failure to take a proactive stand to minimize the impact of the LFA infestation on Hawai`i Island will likely require a far more costly program to address the foreseeable damage to the island economy; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that,by March 1, 2009, the county administration is strongly urged to designate a person or persons to coordinate efforts to control LFA infestations on the island. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county administration is requested to create a LFA taskforce to provide management oversight for the county response to this crisis, and ensure that information from farmers who have been actively working to control large LFA infestations is considered by this taskforce. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county administration, through its designated LFA taskforce, is requested to update the mapping of LFA infestations on the island. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county administration, through its designated LFA taskforce, is requested to advocate at the State level for inspection of landscape materials, including green waste mulch and plants translocated around the island, as well as inspection and testing of all nurseries for the presence of LFA infestations, followed by quarantine and treatment of infected nurseries. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the county administration, through its designated LFA taskforce, is requested to mount a LFA public education campaign that provides direction on how to prevent and eradicate LFA infestations. 2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the county administration, through its designated LFA taskforce, is requested to seek State and Federal assistance for its efforts concerning the LFA, including public education, control, and researching viable solutions for containment of LFA infestations. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that,by May 1, 2009, the county administration is requested to present a progress report to the Hawai`i County Council on county efforts to control LFA infestations on the island, including an assessment of possible state, federal, or private funding sources for research and containment of this invasive species. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, should county funding be deemed necessary for , LFA research, education, containment, and possible monetary reimbursement for bait acquisition to private individuals addressing LFA infestations on their lands, the county administration is strongly urged to allocate the necessary funding in the 2009-10 Operating Budget. BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the County Clerk shall forward certified copies of this resolution to the Mayor, the Director of the Department of Research and Development, and Sandra Lee Kunimoto, Director of the State of Hawai`i Department of Agriculture. Dated at Kona , Hawai`i, this 17th day of _ December , 2008. INTRODUCE I_BY: 4111111111r10114 4as *4. IMI4/41§AV �.iiiii i fl COUNCIL :ER, CO fl ' OF .'AWAI` COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE County of Hawaii AYES NOES ABS EX Hilo, Hawai`i rENRI UES X FORD ' X I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by ;GI2F:E1\10ELL X the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the HOFFM241 County of Hawaii on December 17, 2008 X ?IKEDA ; X NAEOLE X ATTEST: PILAGO X YAGONG X I YOSHIMOTO X I itr— 8 0 1 0 —j Reference: C-1566/EMC—2 0 OUNTY CLERK CHAIRMAN&PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 816 08 3