FOREST PEST BIOLOGICAL CONTROL PROGRAM IN HAWAI't

Forest weeds were not considered to be a major management problem in Hawai'i until the latter quarter of the last century. Most previous biological control programs in the state were against agricultural pests. An interagency committee (U.S.D.A. Forest Service, National Park Service, Hawai'i Department of Agriculture, Hawai'i Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and the University of Hawai'i) was established to encourage studies of forest pests, develop biological control agents and foster the implementation of their recommendations. The progress of biological control efforts against the following weeds in Hawai'i are presented: Clidemia hirta, Hedychium gardnerianum, Miconia calvescens, Myrica faya, Passitlora mollissima, Psidium cattleianum, Rubus ellipticus, and Tibouchina herbacea. Recommendations are made for the establishment of oversight (action) committees for each targeted species, long-term commitment to a program once started, more thorough studies in the native range of the target species using local experts and students and a full-time advocate scientist for forest pest biological control in the Islands.