EVENTS

Webinar Details:

Title:

Collaborative Solutions to Invasive Species Management: Behind the Scenes with the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council Program Support Team

Webinar Description:

The Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) is a state-level interdepartmental collaboration established in 2003 to coordinate policy, planning, and management of invasive species across Hawaiʻi. Join this Pacific RISCC talk to learn how collaborative decision-making among state and federal agencies, partners, and stakeholders drives HISC and its programs.

Meet the team behind HISC and explore key programs supported by the Council, including invasive species legislative tracking, the 643pest.org pest hotline, the Hawaiʻi-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment and Plant Pono program, and the Ports of Entry Monitoring program. This session will also provide an overview of HISC’s history and the 2024 Memorandum of Understanding for High Priority Pests, highlighting how coordinated efforts can strengthen invasive species management across Pacific islands. Join us to discover how integrated and collaborative approaches are essential for addressing invasive species and climate change throughout our region.

Speaker details:

Chelsea Arnott: is the Invasive Species Coordinator for the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry & Wildlife. Her work focuses on invasive species control and interagency biosecurity. She has diverse and extensive invasive species management experience, from field to policy-level, provides program support for the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council, and has worked with the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership, Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee, and the State of Hawaiʻi Nā Ala Hele Trails Program. Chelsea holds a Master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Chuck Chimera: is the Weed Risk Assessment Specialist with the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council. He has worked for the National Park Service, USGS, and received a master’s degree in botany from UH Manoa. He now serves as a Weed Risk Assessment Specialist and as support staff for HISC, fielding requests from organizations, businesses, and individuals to assess the invasive potential of plants being imported into or planted within the islands.

Elizabeth Speith: is support staff and 643Pest.org pest hotline lead facilitator for the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council. She has worked in invasive species coordination, pest reporting, and community engagement in Hawaiʻi for over 20 years. She has supported the HISC since 2016 and brings experience from fieldwork in remote rainforests to backyard invasive species control. She helped launch and currently manages the statewide 643pest.org Pest Hotline. Based on Maui’s North Shore, she also serves as president of the Friends of Haleakalā National Park and is passionate about volunteerism and the role of service in deepening relationships to place.

Jack Reef: is a Planner with the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council. He assists the Council in providing policy level direction, coordination, and planning among state department federal agencies, and international and local initiatives for the control and eradication of harmful invasive species infestations throughout the State and for preventing the introduction of other invasive species that may be potentially harmful. Previous government experience with the City of Los Angeles. Education background in public policy.

Dr. Mason Russo: is the Research and Projects Coordinator for the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council. He helps coordinate a variety of biosecurity and research related activities. He oversees the inter-agency Port of Entry Monitoring Program (PoEM) at Hawaii’s airports and seaports helping to prevent the introduction and spread of high-impact pests. In addition he helps identify and develop research projects that enhance our understanding and management of invasive species in Hawaii. His dissertation work focused on integrated pest management strategies and biological control for invasive species and applies this knowledge to his role.

Relevant Links:

The Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council website: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/

The Plant Pono website: https://plantpono.org/

The Hawaiʻi-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment website: https://plantpono.org/risk-assessment/

The 643pest.org website: https://www.643pest.org/