· Establish and maintain Miconia-free buffers for 250-500 meters
around all satellite populations.
Buffers of 250 to 500 meters are established around infestations at most
sites, however new data reveals that this may not be enough to ensure no
miconia exist outside the buffer. Miconia plants have been found 400
meters or better and up to a kilometer away from a nearest known source at
Honalo (1), Honaunau (2), Jungle King (25), Glenwood (22), Kauaea (42), Puu
Honuaula (45), Hilo Landfill (59), Honolii (11), and at Kawainui (7).
· Maintain and update database for Miconia distribution, population
demography and treatment history for each population.
This database is up to date. Printed maps for each district where work
was accomplished during this period can be found in the attachments.
· Monitor all accessible treated sites annually. Annual inspection
of remote sites from the air.
Field teams are too small in East Hawaii to completely and effectively remove
all trees at all sites and maintain all prior work every year. More
crews are needed at this time to stop all seed production at all sites as
soon as they are found. Revisiting sites occurs as time permits, to
monitor the size and densities of plants and to make sure the site is scheduled
for work before plants mature. More efforts towards community adoption
programs and volunteer events would reduce the pressure on work at site cores,
and will free up field teams to continue surveying for seedlings in remote
areas.
Searching the peripheries while maintaining the cores has been an effective containment control strategy. We have maintained this strategy throughout the grant period with frustration and success. The frustration comes from finding that peripheral plant in the middle of nowhere, thus confirming the suspected range of infestation. Success is more likely to be noticed by big-number destruction at core sites. Surveying for 100% detection and treatment on the periphery while continuing mature tree treatment at core sites, prevents miconia from becoming established in the wild.
To prevent losing the ground we have gained during this grant period, our efforts must continue and expand. We need more field crews, equipment, vehicles and air surveys to monitor prior work and survey around it. All mature trees at core sites should be destroyed in the next twelve months to relieve pressure on the surrounding farms and forests. At the same time peripheral surveys in all forests should continue in order to prevent outlying plants from reaching maturity. In remote areas where miconia was detected, surveys should include areas of previous work as well as expand outward.
It is more important now than ever that field teams continue surveys and
treatments at all sites. Mechanical and biological controls must continue.
Work accomplishments during the grant period are significant enough that it
would be tragic to dilute the efforts while progress and momentum are at
a peak. We at are a point where people don't realize the potential of the
problem, because Onomea is the only visible example we can show. Miconia
containment control is no small task nor is it impossible, if we see our
strategy through to the end.
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visit
Hawaiian Ecosystems At Risk >
HTTP://WWW.HEAR.ORG
< for more information on invasive species |
the Miconia Logo |
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Big Island Invasive Species Committee/Operation Miconia 16 East Lanikaula Street - Hilo, Hawaii - 96720 Ph: (808) 961-3299 - Hotline & Voice Mail Alt. Ph: (808) 974-4140 - Office & Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture Reception Desk FAX: (808) 974-4148 |
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miconia@aloha.net
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