Alien species battle
gets $3M boostA surprise reduction
of $1 million leaves many
conservationists disappointed
Gov. Linda Lingle praised conservationists at a meeting Tuesday, but many left the pep talk disappointed once they realized that the $3 million she promised to fight invasive species was 25 percent less than they had expected.
"I talked to several people yesterday, and they didn't know" about the $1 million reduction until Lingle spoke Tuesday at the annual Hawaii Conservation Conference, said conference program director Claudia Hamblin-Katnik.
Lingle asked the Legislature for $5 million in state money to fight invasive species such as miconia plants and coqui frogs, saying that invasive species are a serious threat to Hawaii's economy and native wildlife. The Legislature trimmed the amount to $4 million.
But few of 550 attendees at the conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village knew the amount had been trimmed again until they heard Lingle say that $3 million would be available.
"It was a surprise when she mentioned the $3 million figure. I hadn't realized the allocation had been reduced," Hamblin-Katnik said.
"It's a huge disappointment," said Christy Martin, spokeswoman for the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species. "Everyone in the row I was sitting on said, 'Oh, I hope she misspoke.'"
Lingle defended the reduction yesterday.
"The budget restriction in no way diminishes our administration's commitment to controlling invasive species and protecting Hawaii's environment," she said. "Let's be clear. Nothing was dedicated before to invasive species control, so $3 million is significant. With the Department of Land and Natural Resources taking the lead, the state will continue to work with federal, county and community partners to be proactive in protecting Hawaii's indigenous species and natural resources."
An invasive species is an aggressive, non-native plant, animal or insect that harms the human health, natural resources, agriculture or economy of an area.
DLNR Director Peter Young said earlier this year that he hoped $5 million in state funding could be matched with an equal amount of federal, county and private funds for a total of $10 million.
The money was to have provided 28 more inspectors at Hawaii's airports and harbors, to screen for unwanted bugs, plants and animals; beef up existing invasive species eradication efforts on all islands; conduct more research; and educate the public about the dangers of invasive species.
Those things will still happen, said Mindy Wilkinson, state invasive species coordinator. Exactly how many more workers can be added to each island's Invasive Species Committee will have to be worked out, Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson said that about $628,000 in state funds was spent to fight invasive species each of the last two years. It had been hoped that this year would see a big increase, but "$3 million is still an increase in funding.
"We're going to focus on our highest priorities and do the best we can with our partners" -- the counties, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Agriculture, and nongovernment groups such as the Nature Conservancy -- Wilkinson said.
Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk:State Department of Land and Natural Resources: