HAPPENINGS

In August, the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) and the Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (Pacific RISCC) Management Network participated in the Maui Invasive Pest Meeting, hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR). Organized by Dr. Roshan Manandhar, Associate Extension Agent with CTAHR Cooperative Extension, the two-day event, held August 12–13 at the Pilina Event Center on the UH Maui campus in Kahului, brought together 100 participants from across Hawaiʻi. The meeting centered on the theme “Policy to Action: Collaborative Solutions for Invasive Species Challenges,” fostering dialogue and partnerships to tackle urgent invasive species issues.

As part of the planning team, the PI-CASC helped shape the agenda by recommending speakers, session topics, and emerging research to feature. PI-CASC’s involvement brought expertise in invasive species and climate interactions, ensuring that science was closely tied to management needs. This work advanced core goals of the Pacific RISCC Management Network: sharing new research with practitioners, promoting knowledge exchange, and strengthening connections between managers and researchers.

Key partners in the event included the Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC), the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC), and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The overall structure and content of the meeting reflected integrated management approaches to invasive species threats, climate impacts, and biosecurity, highlighting the importance of collaboration in building resilience across the islands.

The meeting opened with remarks from Dr. Parwinder Grewal, Dean and Director of CTAHR, followed by a keynote presentation from Dr. Jennifer Grenz of the University of British Columbia. Her presentation, “Wisdom from the Ashes – Rethinking Invasive Species Management Through Community Values and Land-Based Knowledges,” explored how wildfire recovery compels communities to confront their relationship with land and ecosystems. Drawing from her work with Indigenous and rural communities, Dr. Grenz emphasized that resilience depends on centering community values and reciprocity as foundations for ecological restoration.

Throughout the two-day program, speakers highlighted invasive species that remain top concerns in Hawaiʻi, including coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRB), little fire ants (LFA), two-lined spittlebugs, wild ungulates, and other invasive plants and invertebrates. Presentations also underscored how policy frameworks, biosecurity efforts, and climate-informed management strategies are central to advancing prevention, response, and restoration.

There were six sessions over the two days, and 29 different presentations. A few presentation highlights include:

• Jack Reef, a Planner with the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council, described the Interagency Memorandum of Understanding for high-priority pest response, outlining how agencies are coordinating responses to LFA, CRB, and coqui frogs across Hawaiʻi.
• Multiple talks focused on the invasive Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle, including updates from Dr. Keith Weiser (Hawaiʻi CRB Response) on statewide control efforts, Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng (UH Mānoa) on new research into biological and chemical control, and Cecile Powell (Maui County) on how Maui’s organics processing has been improved to reduce CRB risks.
• Franny Brewer, Coordinator of the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, shared insights on enacting collaborative and community-based action on invasive plants in the absence of regulation. This included a discussion of the vulnerability of tropical islands to invasion by non-native plants, with current estimates as high as 28% of plant introductions becoming invasive.
• Dr. Elliott Parsons, Specialist with the Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network through UH Mānoa and PI-CASC, emphasized how partnerships and collaboration across Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands are expanding the capacity to prevent and manage invasive species in a changing climate. He highlighted the accomplishments of Pacific RISCC since its inception in 2020.
• Presentations by Dr. Clay Trauernicht (UH Mānoa, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management), Paul Higashino (Kahoʻolawe Island Reserve Commission), Jeremy Gooding (U.S. Forest Service, State, Private, and Tribal Forestry), and Jordan Jokiel (Haleakalā Ranch) highlighted the intersection of wildfire, forestry, restoration, and invasive species management, stressing the need for adaptive land stewardship under changing conditions.
• Derek Risch, Spatial Conservation and Wildlife Planner at UH Mānoa, detailed the economic challenges posed by non-native ungulates (e.g., feral goats, pigs, sheep, and deer) across the Hawaiian islands, sharing that wild ungulates are costing Hawaiʻi’s ranching industry between $9.2 and $13.1 million annually.
• Several sessions addressed the importance of biosecurity, including efforts by Dr. Josiah Marquez (Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, Plant Pathology Unit), who discussed strengthening collaborative lab-based approaches, Mathew Olbert (HDOA) on Maui’s biosecurity strategy, and Jonathan Sprague (Pūlama Lānaʻi) on Lānaʻi’s island-specific biosecurity plan. Additional talks demonstrated novel detection methods, such as Trisha Dillenburg (Maui Invasive Species Committee), integrating canine detection techniques into MISC’s little fire ant eradication efforts.

The strong turnout of 100 managers and researchers and the rich exchange of knowledge from this meeting demonstrated the urgency of these conversations. By weaving together emerging research and perspectives from researchers, managers, policymakers, and community partners, the 2025 Maui Invasive Pest Meeting reinforced that addressing invasive species in Hawaiʻi requires policy frameworks rooted in collaboration and climate readiness.

“Meetings like this are critical for building the partnerships and momentum needed to address invasive pests in Hawaiʻi,” said organizer Dr. Roshan Manandhar.

For more information about the 2025 Invasive Pest Meeting on Maui, including the full agenda and talk descriptions, visit the CTAHR meeting website.

Looking ahead, please join us for the 2nd Annual Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Science & Management Symposium, to be held virtually on October 21–23, 2025. This free event will highlight the latest research on the CRB invasion in the Pacific, showcase new management tools, and provide regional updates from across the Pacific Islands. Register here.