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Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council

Partner Action News

Aloha Kākou,

Our partners at the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land and Natural Resources have released a draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the proposed release of a biological control agent for the invasive plant Miconia (Miconia calvescens). Please see the note below from staff at DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife regarding the comment period on the DEA. Please submit comments to Kylee Wideman (kylee.k.wideman@hawaii.gov) rather than replying to HISC staff. 

We are excited to announce the publication of the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the proposed field release of Euselasia chrysippe for biological control of Miconia calvescens in Hawai‘i on April 23, 2020 by the Department of Health’s Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC).  The Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, with support from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, is proposing the release of the miconia butterfly, Euselasia chrysippe, whose caterpillars feed in tight-knit groups of 40-80 or more on miconia leaves in the plant’s native range of Costa Rica. Miconia, which grows in dense uniform stands, is considered one of the biggest threats to Hawai‘i’s diverse native forests. Testing by entomologists at the University of Costa Rica and the USDA Forest Service in Hawai‘i has shown Euselasia chrysippe to be host-specific to miconia and its closest relatives, all members of the non-native melastome family.  The proposed state-wide release is expected to be beneficial to Hawai‘i’s forests and hydrology with negligible  adverse effects.

Please submit any questions or comments on the DEA by May 26, 2020 through the online form, by email to kylee.k.wideman@hawaii.gov, or by mail to:
State Protection Forester
1151 Punchbowl Street 
Room 325
Honolulu, HI 96813


(If you have trouble with the hyperlink above or the download button below, you may copy and paste the following URL in your browser to access the DEA: http://oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/The_Environmental_Notice/2020-04-23-TEN.pdf

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