Archival HEAR news phlashes

Updated HEAR species info pages 
The Hawaii ant plan, prepared by the Hawaii Ant Group, is now online.


Fighting invasive species in Hawaii 
Fighting invasive species in Hawaii is the topic of a recent article in the Honolulu Advertiser. (info added 14 January 2008)

Global Compendium of Weeds: UPDATED! 
The Global Compendium of Weeds website has been UPDATED with new data and a new format.

The weedy truth about biofuels 
"The weedy truth about biofuels" is a new report from the Invasive Species Council (Australia). [ more ]

Got dead bird?
Report dead birds in Hawaii to help with early detection of avian flu or West Nile Virus... [ more ]

Snake sighting on Hanalei River (Kauai)!
A snake sighting on Kauai was reported by The Garden Isle newspaper: "Three experts and an eye witness yesterday (25 June 2007) launched kayaks into the Hanalei River to try to track down a snake spotted that afternoon, the fourth reported sighting there since March." If you have information about any missing details, updates to the posted information, or distribution information for other vertebrate species, please send e-mail to webmaster@hear.org.

Study Calls for New Approach to Combat Invasive Species
Nature Conservancy scientists evaluate the economic and ecological threat of expanding plant imports. A press release (21 February 2007) by The Nature Conservancy announces the release of a study examining the disastrous toll that non-native insects and plant diseases are taking on U.S. forests. The report calls for a significant change of approach in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s efforts to prevent new invasions. The study--entitled An Ounce of Prevention: How to Stop Invasive Insects and Diseases from Devastating U.S. Forests --was written by senior Conservancy scientists Frank Lowenstein and Faith Campbell.

Apple snail control plan for Hawaii
A control plan for the apple snail in Hawaii is now available. This Hawaii-wide plan for control of apple snail (Pomacea canaliculata) consolidates the most relevant information about the ecology and behavior of this serious pest of wetlands and agriculture (particularly taro farms). Environmental, agricultural, health, and cultural impacts of the apple snail in Hawaii are assessed, and its current known distribution in Hawaii is mapped. Historic control measures are itemized, and recommendations for current and future actions are detailed. For further information about this plan, contact pennysfh@hawaii.rr.com.

Weeds Gone Wild 2007 Calendar
A printable 2007 calendar is available from the Weeds Gone Wild project. The one-month-per-page calendar features images of weedy species from around the U.S.

MISC newsletter
Kiai Na Moku O Maui Nui is the NEW newsletter of the Maui Invasive Species Committee (MISC), premiering with the fall 2006 issue featuring articles on pampas grass.

Toll-free pest hotline
Hawaii's invasive pest hotline will be staffed 7 days a week, and is now toll-free from neighbor islands. [more...]

Testimony to U.S. Senate
Testimony RE: invasive species to a U.S. Senate subcommittee--particularly with respect to the National Park Service--was presented 09 August 2005.

Erythrina gall wasp
The erythrina gall wasp threatens native & ornamental trees in Hawaii.

Bill proposed for better incoming Hawaii ag inspection
FYI: "Case bill says Hawaii needs incoming federal ag inspections that are same or better as current outgoing ag inspections"

Online book: "Alien plant invasions..."
Alien Plant Invasions in Native Ecosystems of Hawaii, the 1992 book (full text), is now available online.

Online thesis: Chimera 2004
"Investigating seed dispersal and seed predation in a Hawaiian dry forest community: implications for conservation and management" (Chuck Chimera's 2004 Univ. Hawaii M.Sci. thesis) is now available online.

Reeser retires from Haleakala N.P.
Don Reeser retires as superintendent of Haleakala National Park (Maui).

Mail-order exotics on NPR
Invasive exotic plants sold via mail-order are the topic of a recent National Public Radio blurb.

Review of brown treesnake problems and control programs
This March 2005 BTS report  summarizes an independent panel review of the brown treesnake program.

Galapagos invasives
New website: A NEW website features invasive species of the Galapagos Islands (bilingual).

USDA grants
New document: USDA grant and partnership programs  that can address invasive species research technical assistance prevention and control

"Mutant aliens invade Hawaii"
Non-native species invade Hawaii's near-shore waters. Read more...

JOB AVAILABLE with HEAR
HEAR is hiring a e-mail list administrator. The position is half-time, with pro-rated benefits. See the online announcement or e-mail HEAR for more info.

West Nile Virus info
West Nile Virus (WNV) is a potential serious threat to birds and human health in Hawaii. Although as yet (26SEP2004) unconfirmed, WNV may now be on Maui. The Hawaii State Dept. of Health (DOH) provides recommendations and information about reporting dead birds and prevention. DOH also provides an online brochure on  WNV. 

Hawaii Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan now online!
The  Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Management Plan for the State of Hawaii   (final version) is now online!

PIER website updated!
The Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER) now has  information posted online about weeds of Pacific Islands, including species accounts, images, and weed risk assessment results!

GISP website relaunched!
The Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) has launched its new website!

New coqui website!
Control of coqui frogs in Hawaii is a new website posted by CTAHR!

Info in your electric bill!
Hawaii residents will receive an article on water-conserving and non-invasive landscaping with their next electric bills. The article--including additional "bonus" weblinks--is available on the HEAR website.

"McGregor report" online!
The Emigrant Pests (McGregor, 1973), a 190-page report, is now downloadable as searchable text on the HEAR website. (This report was deemed so important for quarantine issues that it was included as an appendix to the recent Kahului Airport Risk Assessment document.)

New landscaper award!
The Malama i ka 'Aina award has been created to recognize landscape professionals who are helping to keep Maui County free from invasive species!

Hawaii interagency planning report online!
The Alien Pest Species Invasion in Hawaii: Background Study and Recommendations for Interagency Planning, an important yet previously not widely-available report, is now available online in full-text-searchable format.

Images of Hawaii's species online!
Links to images of many of Hawaii's native and non-native organisms are now posted online based on organism checklists from the Hawaii Biological Survey (based at Honolulu's Bernice P. Bishop Museum).

Interagency team gets snake training!
Hawaii sends multi-agency team to Guam for snake search and capture training. See the online press release (including reproducible images) from CGAPS.

Hawaii State Noxious Weed images online!
Links to images of Hawaii's state-declared noxious weeds are now posted online (http://www.hear.org/hawaiinoxiousweeds/).

"Big cat" on Maui?
Here's the latest news on sightings of a "big cat" on Maui!

MISC radio PSA!
Audio files of a new MISC PSA are now available online at the MISC website! This one-minute public service announcement regarding invasive alien species on Maui will air on local (Maui) radio stations between May 19 and June 1.

HEAR website downtime scheduled
The HEAR website is scheduled to be down for about 20 minutes at 2:30pm Hawaii time on Tuesday, June 4. If you experience difficulties accessing the website after 3:00PM HST, please contact webmaster@hear.org.

Plants of Hawaii website online!
Plants of Hawaii is a new website including detailed species reports and roadside occurrence maps for dozens of non-native species on Maui. Also, it features over 3000 images (high-resolution and copyright-free) of over 600 plant taxa of Hawaii (both native and non-native species).

Hypericum perforatum seeds being sold on Maui!
HEAR posts an open a letter to producers of seeds of St. John's Wort, an invasive species absent from most Hawaiian islands but toxic to livestock, requesting that they stop selling seeds of this species.

Reading list posted!
An invasive species "reading list" has been posted, including links to newly-available online sites & articles.

TNC needs writer for aquatic nuisance species plan! The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii is seeking a contractor to prepare a Comprehensive Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan for the State of Hawaii. Details of this and other job openings on HEAR's job announcements page.

Hawaii's invasion crisis highlighted (AP story)! The Associated Press has released a story on invasive species, featured in local (and perhaps other national!) newspapers. See the HEAR announcements page for more details!

New articles online! There are several newly-posted full-text articles online RE: invasive species, conservation, etc., courtesy of Conservation in Practice. See HEAR's full-text article index & look for the icons!

HEAR updates back on track! Updates to the HEAR website will continue as normal (from 21AUG2002), as the problems we previously encountered have been resolved. Thank you for your patience!

HEAR website interruption! Due to circumstances beyond our control, the HEAR website might not be updated for up to several weeks from Aug. 18, 2002, or may have periods of down time. We are doing all we can to preclude this, but please bear with us if it comes to pass. Meanwhile, continue to send info for posting & it will be included on the website as soon as possible. For more info, contact the HEAR webmaster (webmaster@hear.org). We apologize for any inconvenience.

Maui Axis Deer Group on TV! The Maui Axis Deer Group (MADG) will be featured on Maui public television Monday, 19 August 2002. See details online!

Natives Strike Back! This native happyface spider family chows down on an alien! Read more here!

LIVE SNAKE in Honolulu airport! Read the entire online article!

Position open at MISC!  MISC is seeking a public relations specialist. For further info, see the writeup on the HEAR announcements page!

Some documents posted on the HEAR website are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If your computer is not already set up to read these files, you can download the FREE Adobe Acrobat reader. You can set up most web browsers to automatically invoke this reader (as a "helper application" or "add-in") upon encountering documents of this type (refer to your browser's documentation for how to do this).

Comments, questions, feedback about this website or its contents? e-mail the HEAR project  This page was created on 19 August 2002 by PT, and was last updated on 14 January 2008 by PT.