Crews from the Big Island Invasive Species Committee will be working to control invasive albizia along the Mamalahoa Highway (Highway 19) from Papaikou to Honokaa beginning in the middle of this month.
Crews from the Big Island Invasive Species Committee will be working to control invasive albizia along the Mamalahoa Highway (Highway 19) from Papaikou to Honokaa beginning in the middle of this month.
The effort follows work by arborists from Hawaii Electric Light Company and the state Department of Transportation, who recently removed trees threatening power lines and roads in the area, and is expected to continue until the end of February.
“The goal is to create a buffer zone in and around the highway easement to prevent albizia from seeding and spreading into the areas where large trees were just removed or cut back,” said Bill Buckley, albizia program coordinator for BIISC.
Trees will be treated using a method developed for albizia in Hawaii by University of Hawaii researcher James Leary. An incision is made in the bark, followed by an application of a small amount of the EPA reduced-risk herbicide Milestone.
“Depending on the size of the tree, we can use as little as a half a milliliter, or several milliliters for very large albizia,” Buckley said about the treatment.
Albizia has long been recognized in Hawaii for its rapid growth and notoriously weak wood, which can drop large branches and crush structures, causing significant property damage, car accidents and road blockages. After Tropical Storm Iselle in 2014, many people in the Puna District were left without power for days and even weeks because of power lines downed by fallen albizia.
BIISC has been working with partners such as HELCO and the DOT to reduce the risk to communities from albizia. Funding for the BIISC albizia program has been contributed by the state, county council, the U.S. Forest Service and through private grants.
Training workshops are available to teach residents how to treat trees in and around their communities. The next community workshop will be Saturday (Jan. 16) in Hawaiian Paradise Park. A special volunteer day to control albizia near Lava Tree State Monument also is planned for Feb. 20.
For more information about the planned control work or the community workshops, contact biisc@hawaii.edu or view the events calendar at www.biisc.org.