Print Version - = Informational meeting to be held on waiwi control plan

Informational = meeting to be=20 held on waiwi control plan

by Peter = Sur
Stephens=20 Media

Tuesday, June 3, 2008 10:08 AM=20 HST

The growing discord over a = proposal to=20 release a scale insect into a Puna forest to combat the spread of waiwi = has led=20 lawmakers to schedule a public informational meeting Thursday night in=20 Hilo.

Because the initial public comment period has closed as of = May 23,=20 no testimony will be taken, said state Rep. Clift Tsuji, D-South Hilo, = Panaewa,=20 Puna, Keaau, Kurtistown, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture = and=20 moderator of the meeting. However, a second 30-day comment period will = begin on=20 a day to be announced.

The state House has no formal role in the = approval=20 process, but Tsuji hopes the upcoming meeting can inform the public and = answer=20 some questions he may have about the proposal.

"There has never been a community gathering to receive = input, just=20 this written communication," Tsuji said Monday.

In March, the = U.S.=20 Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Institute of Pacific Islands = Forestry,=20 proposed releasing a scale insect, Tectococcus ovatus, from Brazil to = slow the=20 spread of waiwi, better known as strawberry guava. Strawberry guava was=20 introduced in the islands in 1825 and has become established across = thousands of=20 acres on all the Hawaiian islands.

Tsuji has taken a strong = stance=20 against the spread of invasive species, but in this case has decided to = remain=20 neutral.

"Initially there was a period for public comment and = testimony=20 to be provided and sent to the U.S. Forest Service, I believe, and that = comments=20 to implement that plan has ended," Tsuji said. "I understand there's = been=20 hundreds of comments provided."

Tsuji's office has also received = many=20 comments about the plan.

"We = believe it=20 is appropriate to provide information" so the community can have a = better idea=20 of the proposal, he said.

Those scheduled to speak and present a=20 PowerPoint slideshow include officials from the state Department of = Agriculture,=20 the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service, = the U.S.=20 Geological Survey, the USDA and the Big Island Invasive Species = Committee. The=20 presentations will take up the first hour; the second hour will be = devoted to a=20 question-and-answer session.

The environmental assessment is part = of a=20 long process that must be completed before T. ovatus can be released = into the=20 Olaa Forest Reserve. Still required are Plant Protection and Quarantine = permits=20 from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a permit for = import=20 and release of restricted organisms from the state Department of = Agriculture=20 Plant Quarantine Branch, and a special use permit from the DLNR Division = of=20 Forestry and Wildlife.

Among those attending Thursday's meeting = will be=20 M. Tracy Johnson, a research entomologist with the USDA who oversees = efforts to=20 combat strawberry guava and other invasive weed species like=20 miconia.

"I'm there (at the meeting) to explain any details about = how we=20 do biocontrol," Johnson said.