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The bills were supported by the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, Big Island and Oahu Invasive Species Committees, Sierra Club of Hawaii, and Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, but opposed by the Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) is under pressure, properly, to strengthen rules preventing damaging pests and invasive species infesting nursery products from spreading, whether within or between islands.
Carol Kwan, a Mililani-based arborist, will never forget the day that little fire ants rained down on her while she was on the job.
Concerns over how to control damaging invasive species, including little fire ants, continue to intensify as the state Department of Agriculture discusses rules for the pests.
The ants measure only about one-sixteenth of an inch long but are considered one of the world’s worst invasive species.