THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	69
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO IDENTIFY ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND REGULATORY CONSEQUENCES OF CROP DEGRADATION CAUSED BY INVASIVE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES IN HAWAII.

     WHEREAS, invasive and endangered species have negative impacts on Hawaii crop and animal production, including declining yields and depressed returns from the cultivation of agricultural products; and

     WHEREAS, invasive and endangered species are affecting farmers statewide, and negative impacts are particularly acute where the invasive and endangered species are relatively recently introduced and traditional methods for control have not been established; and

     WHEREAS, invasive and endangered species directly affect the growing of crops for local consumption and directly impact Hawaii farmers' ability to supply fresh local crops to people in the State; and

     WHEREAS, while farmers and ranchers have experienced the negative impacts of invasive and endangered species, they don't necessarily have the training to document the economic and agricultural harm being caused by these damaging pests; and

     WHEREAS, identifying the impacts of invasive and endangered species on Hawaii agriculture is necessary to facilitate a unified federal, state, and county effort to address this agricultural threat; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources are requested to identify economic, environmental, and regulatory consequences of crop degradation caused by invasive and endangered species in Hawaii; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources are requested to submit a report of their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture; Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service; Administrator of the Farm Service Agency;  Under Secretary of the Rural Development Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Agribusiness Development Corporation; Director of Health; Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources and the Project Manager of the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii; Directors of Planning of the Counties of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai; Director of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu; Executive Director of Economic Development of the City and County of Honolulu; Director of Economic Development of the County of Kauai; Coordinator of Economic Development of the County of Maui; Director of Research and Development of the County of Hawaii; Co-Chairpersons of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council; and Executive Director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Report Title: 

Invasive and Endangered Species Task Force