HILO — Hawaii’s fight against rapid ohia death got a federal boost on Monday when U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz announced $497,000 in funding from the Department of the Interior to be directed toward additional research.
The money funds an Early Detection Rapid Response team, comprised of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service and Agricultural Research Service, the University of Hawaii, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The team will start work immediately, beginning with field surveys and treatment research.
Rapid ohia death is caused by a strain of the fungus Ceratocystis fimbriata. It was first observed in Puna but has spread across the Big Island. Some areas have seen mortality rates of between 50 and 90 percent. About 38,000 acres have been affected.
Ceratocystis fimbriata has not yet been found on other islands, in part because of an emergency quarantine that began last year and prohibited transport of ohia wood.
“This is an ecological emergency, and it requires everyone working together to save Hawaii Island’s native forest,” Sen. Schatz said in a statement. “I’m pleased to see our federal partners step up to help.”
An additional $673,000 of in-kind funding also will be added to the effort, according to the press release.
DLNR chair Suzanne Case said in a statement that the combined funds “could have enormous biological, economic, social and cultural repercussions for the state.”
Schatz first requested federal funding from the DOI in May. The $497,000 appropriation is part of the 2017 Agriculture and Interior Appropriations bill.
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.