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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 15, 2002

Hawai'i expert testifies for House bill on invasive species

By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — A Bishop Museum zoologist was among wildlife specialists testifying yesterday in favor of a House bill that aims to help slow growth of harmful non-native species.

Gilbert Coloma-Agaran, chairman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, also sent written testimony welcoming solutions the bill provides for Hawai'i and the U.S. territories in the Pacific.

But Bush administration officials told the House Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans that myriad programs already exist and warned the issue might not be a budget priority.

Lucius Eldredge, an invertebrate zoologist at the Bishop Museum and professor emeritus of the University of Guam, offered numerous reasons why the legislation is needed in Hawai'i and the Pacific.

"Hawai'i accounts for only about 0.2 percent of the land area of the United States, but has 31 percent of the nation's endangered species and 42 percent of its endangered birds," Eldredge said. "Not only the 'extinction capital of the world,' the Hawaiian Islands are also the 'introduced species capital of the world.' "

"There is a great need to further understand the pathways and dispersal mechanisms of non-native species," Eldredge said. "The first line of defense is prevention, followed by early detection and rapid response."

Coloma-Agaran wrote that the presence of harmful non-native species in Hawai'i affects every part of the state's economy and environment. The bill, which would establish two grant programs to help states identify priorities for the control of invasive species and provide money for state and local projects, could advance local efforts already under way in Hawai'i.

Janette Kaiser, acting associate deputy chief of the National Forest System, told the committee the Agriculture Department already has programs in place. Money for some of those could be affected because of the proposed legislation, Kaiser said.

James Tate Jr., the Interior Department's science adviser, generally applauded the bill's emphasis on cooperation among federal, state and local governments and private landowners.

But he warned, "In the wake of Sept. 11, we have to ask about cost, how this would be funded in the context of the current budget climate, and the priorities of our nation as a whole."