Each poses a threat to residents\u2019 health, the environment and the agricultural sector, part of what led lawmakers to pump millions of dollars into the state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity<\/a> while supercharging its regulatory powers.<\/p>\n The site is intended to become a collaborative platform, where state officials and residents can share information to better stem the impacts of pests statewide, Hawai\u02bbi Plant Industry administrator Richard Kim told legislators Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The dashboard, mandated under Act 236<\/a> this year, was officially launched Monday and discussed during a briefing where lawmakers received updates on the biosecurity laws they poured more than $26 million into this year. That money was for species-specific mitigation programs and centralizing previously fragmented pest control efforts under the agriculture department.<\/p>\n The agency\u2019s ability to quickly respond to new infestations remains a key concern for lawmakers, who granted the department the ability to declare biosecurity emergencies this year. That power includes not just stopping the movement of pest-infested commodities but the ability to requisition or quarantine property, quickly.<\/p>\n Attitudes toward new and potentially invasive species had become a self-fulfilling prophecy in the past, Sen. Tim Richards of Hawai\u02bbi Island said, especially because latent pests would be ignored until it was too late.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we have found a new invasive species, we\u2019ve gotten very tangled up in policy procedures,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n The department has \u201csort of\u201d found how it can speed up its response, said Jonathan Ho, manager of the state plant quarantine branch. Creating a formula for quicker responses that lays out the responsibilities of various state, county and nonprofit groups, Ho said, is one of the steps.<\/p>\n Follow The Species<\/p>\n The state\u2019s new site will be regularly updated to show residents what the state is doing, officials said, and also will draw on information from the public for new detections.<\/p>\n The dashboard is not fully functional yet, awaiting some final steps to make it fully interactive. The agency also continues to develop its own technology to improve its timeliness, according to data scientist Craig Clouet, who works for the agriculture department.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be updating this to a live feed eventually, to see exactly where the work is being done and how it\u2019s being done,\u201d Clouet said. <\/p>\n So far this year, for example, the biosecurity agency has treated 593 trees by injecting chemicals into either the roots or trunks of trees, mostly in Kaka\u02bbako and downtown Honolulu.<\/p>\n For little fire ants, Waim\u0101nalo has received most of the state\u2019s attention, with 8,770 surveys done for the ants, almost 75% of the agency\u2019s surveys this year. About 8% of the samples came back positive for the ants, which sting humans and can blind pets.<\/p>\n The dashboard is designed to foster academic and citizen-led research, Clouet said, while also becoming a tool to educate the public about the perils of invasive species and the plans and policies in place to reduce their impacts on a neighborhood level.<\/p>\n The brown tree snake \u2014 which could have a more-than $2 billion impact on the state<\/a> \u2014 and other species of concern will be added in the future, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, we\u2019re going to have it all statewide, have a lot more data and then make it fun for the public, at a level they can understand,\u201d Clouet said. \u201cIn the background, we\u2019re going to be creating a database\u2026 for actually solving the problem, or attempting to.\u201d <\/p>\n Getting Their Act Together<\/p>\n Both Acts 231 and 236 were comprehensive, covering everything from control programs for parakeets to addressing chronic staffing challenges<\/a> at the biosecurity agency.<\/p>\n Act 236 laid out timelines for the agency to onboard a new deputy director for biosecurity and establish a biosecurity branch. It also laid out steps modeled on New Zealand<\/a>\u2018s biosecurity protocols, with interim deadlines.<\/p>\n Lawmakers remain skeptical about the department\u2019s progress, raising concerns about its ability to play well with other invasive species groups and whether it has the wherewithal to respond quickly and strongly against invasive species.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-24-at-11.03.36\u202fAM-1024x775.png\")
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The state data on coqui frogs focuses on the state\u2019s response on O\u02bbahu. (Courtesy: DAB)<\/p>\n![\"Views](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/250430-dc-Legislature-7932-1024x683.jpg\")
Sen. Tim Richards, left, has a strong interest in invasive species given his experience as a rancher on the Big Island. (David Croxford\/Civil Beat\/2025)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screen-Shot-2019-11-14-at-3.02.08-PM.png\")
Coqu\u00ed frogs, known for the idiosyncratic call, are entrenched on the Big Island and spreading on O\u02bbahu. (Courtesy: USFWS)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-24-at-2.59.35\u202fPM-1024x634.png\")
The state Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity published its biosecurity dashboard on Monday, illustrates the types of trees treated by the state, what kind of treatments were used and where in the state, by ZIP code. (Courtesy: DAB)<\/p>\n
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