Funding critical to fight invasive species

The Hawaii Ant Lab, albizia control. Rat lungworm disease education. Rapid ohia death research.

They’re all Big Island projects funded in part by grants from the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, the board that supports interagency efforts to combat Hawaii’s invasive species problem.

An HISC report prepared for the 2017 legislative session addresses some of the challenges faced as agencies try to plan for the future of addressing invasive species.

HISC, for example, receives about $10 million in grant requests annually, but the agency’s budget last year was just $4.75 million.

Of that, 84 percent came from legislative appropriations out of the state general fund. Just $750,000 was included in the state budget itself.

“What we’ve really been surviving on for the past three years are special appropriations from legislators,” said HISC program supervisor Joshua Atwood.

Franny Kinslow Brewer, communications director for the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, one of the organizations that receives HISC grants, said the question of how much annual appropriations would be was a constant concern.

“That’s always a problem because we never know how much HISC is going to get,” she said.

BIISC often tries to increase its program funding by leveraging its HISC grants with other resources.

“With a lot of the federal government grants, they want to see some other commitment, and then they’ll match,” Kinslow Brewer said.

This year, the governor’s budget includes a request to convert the FY17 special appropriation of $4 million to the base budget. That would free HISC from having to play the waiting game each year.

“In terms of trying to plan, having some sort of financial stability for project support would be really critical,” Atwood said.

The budget also includes a $500,000 line item that specifically addresses rapid ohia death, which would give HISC $5.25 million for project support in FY18.

Still, even the expected stability isn’t enough to fully address the extent of money needed for invasive species control.

“We’re sort of the gap filler,” Atwood said of HISC’s role. “It’s a huge job, and there’s a lot of project needs out there.”

In addition to HISC funding, money for invasive species projects comes from individual department budgets. It also comes from bills introduced during the legislative session, but the success rate of those bills can be low.

During the 2016 session, 37 bills relating to invasive species were introduced. Just four passed, with a fifth being added directly to the supplemental budget.

Twenty-seven of the bills that did not pass did not receive a hearing.

“We’re hopeful that this year some of those same topics will be picked up,” Atwood said.

Rep. Cindy Evans, D-North Kona, North Kohala, South Kohala, said the large number of invasive species-related bills that are introduced annually was a common occurrence, as legislators attempt to address the problems specific to their communities.

“The good thing about that is it sends a strong message that it’s important to so many people that we cannot not address it,” she said.

And this year, the recent implementation of a state interagency biosecurity plan is expected to help more of those bills through the Legislature by providing a more concrete guide to actions that need to be taken.

“That’s my hope,” said Rep. Nicole Lowen, D-Kailua-Kona, Holualoa, Kalaoa, Honokohau. “I think we want to try to get a better handle on a broader perspective.”

The 10-year plan outlines 147 specific action items, many of which will require funding from the Legislature.

An informal biosecurity package will be introduced this year, Atwood said, which includes funding for the state Department of Agriculture to construct a biocontrol facility, support for watershed programs, continued restoration of the Department of Health’s Vector Control division, and a measure to reconstruct HISC itself as the Hawaii Invasive Species Authority.

HISA would have its own dedicated staff and continue to facilitate coordination between agencies such as the DLNR and DOA. It also would have a larger grants program to allow for more distribution of funds.

“We know the direction we want to go in,” Atwood said. “We know the steps to get there. What we need to do in this session and the sessions to come is really partner well with the legislators.”

Kinslow Brewer said BIISC was optimistic about the Big Island delegation’s role in getting invasive species legislation passed and funding secured.

“In the last year or so we’ve seen so much interest from our representatives,” she said.

“I just feel like they really want to act on this.”

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.