LIHUE — They parachute to the ground, hidden inside bird droppings. They hitch-hike their way in on the soles of your shoes. They stow away on ships, hidden between boxes until safely nestled in Nawiliwili Harbor. Though their Trojan Horse-style
LIHUE — They parachute to the ground, hidden inside bird droppings. They hitch-hike their way in on the soles of your shoes. They stow away on ships, hidden between boxes until safely nestled in Nawiliwili Harbor.
Though their Trojan Horse-style methods are old school, invasive species are still successfully staking their claim on Kauai.
For Rachel Smith and the rest of the Kauai Invasive Species Committee, the mission is to quell the insurgents.
Their strategy this week is to spread awareness about the problem in celebration of Kauai Invasive Species Awareness Week, which is part of National Invasive Species Awareness Week.
“Basically it’s just a week to bring awareness to invasive species issues,” Smith said. “Invasive species are a big deal on Hawaii because we have a really pristine and delicate, biodiversity-rich native ecosystem.”
That mission gets a bit more complicated when you consider the variety of invasive species. The term applies to any kind of animal or plant, from pathogens to mammals and everything in between.
“I don’t think anyone knows the exact number of invasive species in Hawaii,” said Smith, who is the outreach coordinator for KISC. “And they all have different effects.”
Hawaii represents roughly 1 percent of the United States’ landmass, but is home to more than 40 percent of all threatened and endangered species in the country.
There are about 1,400 plants that are endemic only to Hawaii, and of those, 200 are critically endangered. That means there are 50 or less left in the wild.
“We need to rev up biosecurity in Hawaii,” Smith said. “We’re kind of behind on conservation efforts, and we should be in front of everybody because we have so much to protect.”
And hitching a ride onto the island is only one of the ways that the critters get here.
“Another pathway is intentional, but not necessarily malicious,” Smith said. “Unfortunately the invasive plants that have been introduced here have been intentional, through plant lovers.”
Miconia is a plant that was introduced to Kauai in that way. Smith said now the tree is No. 1 on their list of undesirables.
“It was brought here by the nursery industry because someone thought it was beautiful,” Smith said. “It turns out to be one of Hawaii’s greatest threats.”
Smith said the species has already taken over two-thirds of the forests in Tahiti and is “the worst invasive species in the world.”
African tulip trees and strawberry guavas are also on Hawaii’s invasive species list.
This year marks the fourth annual Hawaii Invasive Species Awareness Week, and KISC is hosting a few events to help boost education about the species on the island.
On Thursday, KISC and the Kokee Resource Conservation Program will host an invasive species removal workday at the Awaawapuhi Trail in Kokee. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and those interested can RSVP to Cherith Andrade at 808-335-0045.
On Saturday, from 9 to 10 a.m., KISC will host a free workshop at Kauai Nursery and Landscaping that will teach anyone interested how to plant pono.
“I’ll go over some of the invasive species and show them how to plant non-invasive species in their yard,” Smith said.
For more information, contact Kauai Nursery and Landscaping at 245-7747.
Information on what species are considered invasive on Hawaii can be found at www.kauaisc.org, which is also where interested people can join the Guardians of the Garden Isle program and pledge to protect the island against invasive species.
