WHEREAS, preserving and protecting our natural environment and resources are critical to ensure a promising future for our residents, especially our children; and

WHEREAS, invasive alien species, such as coqui frogs, brown tree snakes and other invasive species, represent dangerous threats to Hawaii's fragile and complex ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, coqui frogs, which have reproduced at a frightening rate with distinct populations numbering over 270 on the island of Hawaii alone, are not only a nuisance but, if left unchecked, may also affect the tourism industry and disrupt native bird populations that compete with the frogs for insect prey; and

WHEREAS, Act 51, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, appropriated $300,000 to the counties for response and control efforts for programs and initiatives that are found to be most effective in the control and eradication of the coqui frog; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's Congressional delegation have worked to secure federal funds for the control and eradication of the brown tree snake, which has been directly responsible for the extinction or local extirpation of 12 of 25 native forest bird and lizard species in Guam; and

WHEREAS, federal funding received for various control measures, research, prevention and eradication of the brown tree snake has significantly reduced the threat that the brown tree snake poses to Hawaii's natural ecosystem and economy, and similar funding for coqui frog control and eradication can have the same effect; and

WHEREAS, Act 85, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, established the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (Council), a body that provides leadership, direction, and coordination for invasive species prevention and eradication programs statewide; and

WHEREAS, prior to the Council, the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, primarily comprised of management-level participants from every major federal, state, county and private agency and organizations, conducted various initiatives to combat invasive species, including media campaigns, research, improving coordination and collaboration among agencies, and facilitating the formation of invasive species committees on all major islands; and

WHEREAS, funding for the activities and programs of the Council, the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species and the invasive species committees come from a combination of federal, state, and private sources; and

WHEREAS, their efforts have been weakened by recent actions of the federal government that have drastically reduced the resources necessary to effectively combat invasive species; and

WHEREAS, a recent funding proposal for nearly $9,000,000 in United States Department of Agriculture grant money to address the coqui frog problem was denied by the federal Office of Management and Budget; and

WHEREAS, the denial of the United States Department of Agriculture grants may jeopardize the eradication efforts under way and planned for the island of Hawaii where the coqui frog problem is most severe; and

WHEREAS, actions like these deprive Hawaii of the funding desperately needed to protect the native environment and preserve the native ecosystem; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation are requested to renew their efforts in obtaining federal funding for coqui frog eradication and to attempt to achieve levels of funding that is similar to the funding provided for the control of the brown tree snake; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation are urged to use the same vigor and commitment that they have used in obtaining funding for the brown tree snake; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Federal Funding for Coqui Frog Containment and Eradication