2024 Hawaiʻi Island
Weed Control and Restoration Forum
This forum was brought to you in collaboration with the Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC), Hawaiʻi Volcanos National Park, Invasive Species Program (HVNP), the Three Mountains Alliance (TMA), Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historic Park (KALO), and the Ecosystems Extension Program (EE). After a brief hiatus from the Big Island Natural Areas Weed Control Forum, it was great to come back together, meet new people, see old friends and colleagues.
Presentations
Each presentation can be accessed by clicking on the pdf icon next to the presentation title. Labeled with title, presenter and affiliation. For a brief summary of each presentation, jump to the Presentation Q&A section.
Biocontrol Updates for Forest Weeds in Hawaiʻi --Tracy Johnson (US Forest Service-Institute for Pacific Islands Forestry)
UAV Uses for Conservation: Beyond Imagery -- Ryan Perroy (UH Hilo)
Agricultural Aircraft Operations: Regulations and Exemptions -- Roberto Rodriguez III (UH Hilo)
Invasive Plant Control Efforts at BIISC -- Jenn Tamaariki (Big Island Invasive Species Committee)
Weed Control Strategies at Keauʻohana -- Jaya Dupuis (Hawaiʻi Environmental Restoration)
Post-Albizia Control Successional Patterns and Dynamics to Inform Management -- Flint Hughes (USFS--IPIF)
Seed Broadcast for Post-Fire Restoration -- Sierra McDaniel and Serafina Gajate (Hawaiʻi Volcanos National Park)
Post-fire Seed Broadcasting: Waikōloa 2018 to Present -- Rob Yagi (Waikōloa Dry Forest Initiative)
Anahulu I Post-Fire Restoration Edith Adkins (Nāpuʻu Natural Resources Management)
The "Need for Seed": Seed Production Areas ... Clay Trauernicht (UH Mānoa)
Discussions
Presentation Q&A
Each presentation was followed by time for Q&A and deeper discussion with the audience. Questions are shared here, answers coming soon.
Biocontrol Updates for Forest Weeds in Hawaiʻi --Tracy Johnson (USFS-IPIF)
Brief overview of history of biocontrol in Hawaiʻi, process for determining biocontrol. Current status of biocontrol agents for: Clidemia, Miconia, Tibouchina, Banana Polka, Faya tree, Strawberry guava, Himalayan Ginger, Christmas Berry and Albizia
What is the status of the Erythrina gall wasp?
This is an HDOA project, for more information visit this HISC info page.
In short, while there was an initial biocontrol released in 2008 for the Erythrina gall wasp, HDOA is working on the introduction of a secondary biocontrol to bolster the efficacy of controlling this pest.
To the audience: where do you see Tectococcus at work? What other species do you think biocontrol should be considered for?
UAV Uses for Conservation: Beyond Imagery -- Ryan Perroy (UH Hilo)
Description of developing UAV applications for NRM goals: Invasive species detection through imagery (Miconia calvescens, CRB) and sampling (ROD); control methods (distribution of Tecctococus ovatus) and restoration (seed "ball" broadcasting)
Yes, we are playing around with a robotics design that has the capability to cut on one end, and spray a pruning sealant from the other end.
When using UAS to collect ʻōhiʻa samples for ROD, is there concern about wounding the tree?
Agricultural Aircraft Operations: Regulations and Exemptions -- Roberto Rodriguez III (UH Hilo)
Overview of process for implementation of UAS for NRM objectives, with a focus on pesticide/herbicide application. Covers both obtaining certification for individual OR when contracting a certified UAS operator.
What is the timeline to become a certified UAS pilot?
The process is continually changing as FAA responds to the needs of the community. What once took five years now takes two.
Are there contractors who can take on UAS projects if getting staff certified is not an option?
Yes. There is a public database of certified pilots. There is a list of Hawaiʻi-based pilots within the presentation.
Do Rubus treatments differ between species?
What is the treatment for Phanax?
Are the ID photos of these targets on the BIISC website? For more information on each BIISC target, explore the presentation or the BIISC website.
Do you use pre-emergents in the areas of concern? No, but interested in exploring this.
Invasive Plant Control Efforts at BIISC -- Jenn Tamaariki (BIISC)
Brief history and current status of BIISC target species--Buddleja madagascariensis, Cryptostegia madagascariensis, Perskia aculeata, Cotoneaster pannosus, Rubus sieboldii, Ilex cassine, Phenax hirtus, Lonicera hildebrandiana, Chromolaena odorata. Includes island distribution, location of current infestations and population size.
Weed Control Strategies at Keauʻohana -- Jaya Dupuis (Hawaiʻi Environmental Restoration)
Brief historical overview of management at Keauʻohana by HER including spatial extent and threats. Description of control methods for invasive species of concern--strawberry guava, Maile pilau and clidemia--and details on species-specific herbicide efficacy including application method and active ingredient.Herbicide efficacy for three application methods, five active ingredients and numerous species. Covers injection, foliar and cut-stump application methods. Includes Glyphosate (multiple formulations), Triclopyr (multiple formulations, Milestone, Imazypr and Fusilade. Mentions strawberry guava, ironwood, African tulip, Miconia, Clusia, Cercropia, Albizia, Banyan, Java plum, Melochia, Trema, Polynesian yam, kukae maile, maile pilau, Erichtites, Thimbleberry, Desmodium, Watabe fern, Wedelia, Lantana
How are you managing resprouts from the SG compost beds?
What is the ideal pile size for SG? How high do you stack them?
Why were you girdling the SG?
Do you have problems with pigs coming after the compost piles?
Do you have any visions about how to scale this up to larger areas?
Do you work with UH?
Post-Albizia Control Successional Patterns and Dynamics to Inform Management -- Flint Hughes (USFS-IPIF)
Presents results from 10+ year study post-Albizia treatment. Study tracked, leaf litter inputs, nutrient dynamics, understory vegetation response, Albizia seedling recruitment and tree and coarse wood decomposition.
Are there outreach programs working on this?
Would you selectively remove trees instead of fully opening the canopy?
Weed Control Topics
We pulled weed control topics of interest from a) a pre-meeting survey conducted in part to gauge what topics the community was interested in addressing during the meeting and b) weed control challenges shared by the group as part of a gallery walk activity. This breakout session was fairly unstructured to allow participants to spend time discussing and documenting whichever topics were most relevant to their work. For each topic, the group was asked "What do we know" and "What do we need to know" about the focal topic. Feedback indicated that there was maybe too much unstructured time during this section of the day and the information documented indicated that these prompts may have been too broad. However, this information contributed from participants experiences are invaluable. These will be starting points for "species profiles", collating practitioner knowledge with grey literature (e.g., theses, technical reports, etc.) and published information. Through combining these different sources of information, we hope to synthesize the state-of-knowledge pertaining to the management of the species below. This is a work in progress and as it stands, represents only the knowledge and needs of those that participated in the meeting. Have something to add? We want to incorporate it into this effort! Email us at EcosystemsExtensionHI @ gmail.com--we look forward to hearing from you.
In response to multiple conversations that highlight the need around increasing access to native seeds, the Restoration Forum focused on the logistics behind three recent or ongoing seed broadcast projects, seed hui's, and seed production. These examples were drawn from a) the 2023 Pacific Entomological and Botanical meeting forum: Disturbance-Ready Restoration in Hawaiʻi; b) 2024 Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference: Climate-change Resilient Restoration; and c) the 2023 Native Plant Material Survey (report in progress).
a) Disturbance-Ready Restoration
b) Climate-Change Resilient Restoration
The colors represent different lines of conversations during each forum.
c) Native Plant Material Survey
The group engaged in two discussions about seed access--one to highlight existing and potential seed sharing pathways to address program species diversity goals within their restoration areas. The second explored how provenance concerns may vary between restoration goals, with a focus on seed provenance for post-fire response.
Species lists
This was an informal process conducted around a 6x8ft size map of Hawaiʻi Island--with only major government TMKs layered onto the map. We would like to recognized that developing formal seed sharing agreements will require intentional meetings and was not an objective of this gathering. Rather, programs shared what species they have access to, and what species they would like access to. This resulted in input from 25 distinct project sites managed by 18 distinct programs. We visualized the most common species programs have access to and want access to. Processing this information is challenging because discrete species may often have the same Hawaiian name (e.g., pilo), and while spatial context may sometimes provide insight to what species is being referred to, there are sometimes multiple species found in one place. We simply provide a visualization of the most commonly mentioned species/genus that participant programs had access to (Fig a) or wanted access to (Fig b).
Figure A. List of species most commonly accessed by participant programs
Although not a species itself, grasses as a general group were mentioned six times and were therefore grouped with what grass and sedge species were specifically mentioned and included in the plot below.
Figure B. List of species most commonly wanted by participant programs
The group was highly engaged with the activity and some referred to it in the feedback survey, liking most that the forum provided opportunities for "collaborating with other entities to expand resources" and "discussions of plant availability".
Criteria for mixing seed sources for seed production and post-fire response
Participants broke out into groups loosely based on the location of their program--North, East, South and West Hawaiʻi, as well as central / high mountain group. The groups were provided large maps of the island and prompted to mark where they collect seed for a given species and discuss what kind of expanded range they would accept seed from, given the need to respond to a wildfire. They were instructed to choose plants that were not a) ʻōhiʻa or another tree species but rather b) species with rather fast maturation/life cycles. More coming soon.
Challenges and Success
The attendees provided insight on their programs challenges and successes through a Gallery Walk activity--posters representing four regions (North, South, East, West) were positioned around the room and participants made post-it's representing their Weed Control (Day 1) and Restoration (Day 2) experiences. This is by no means a comprehensive assessment of current challenges or successes. For one thing, there are more contributions from the Weed Control Forum, partially reflecting the greater attendance on that day. Rather, it reflects the experiences of those who were able to attend and 1) provided an opportunity for participants to learn about other programs in a means other than presentations, 2) an ice breaker for participants to engage over, 3) weed control topics to feed the afternoon session, 4) topics of interest for future gatherings. The input is documented in a spreadsheet and summarized thematically below. Note that some input could belong to two or more categories, but for simplicity it is organized by one layer of topics.
Weed Control Challenges
Weed Control Successes
Funding, resources and capacity (12) or other external challenges (16), access (5), other threats (6), skill (2), and strategy (9). Funding, and resources and capacity: --Hiring and training (especially of seasonal temporary crews) --Understaffing, leading to the feeling of always playing catch-up and not being able to address all threats --Staffing levels for projects --3 year funding cycles do not work --Needing more state and county support for Albizia mitigation on main thoroughfares --Not enough funding --Keeping funding and sustaining staff --Limited herbicide Access: Accessing sites due to remoteness, terrain, or lack of infrastructure Strategy: --To much survey, not enough control --Varying management views from stakeholders --Challenge of shifting ones mindset to have a level of acceptance to invasive spp once established (2) --Tolerating some nonnatives and prioritizing others strategically --Collective goal setting --Working at large scale --Consistency --Herbicide application --Methods are too slow to change to current knowledge/BMPS Skill: --Rapid plant identification during backpack spraying --Correct plant identification during backpack spraying
Community (6), species-specific (14), strategy (8), and tools (7). Community: --Regular volunteer Himalayan ginger "attacks" --Volunteer groups love pulling Faya --Weed volunteer groups --Using social media to get people to take out night-blooming jasmine in their backyards --Very engaged, supportive community for Albizia control --Effective outreach leading to reports of a previously unknown population of BIISC target species Strategy: --Starting early detection work --SEA model (Special Ecological Areas as way to manage key sites) --Control of certain invasive before they get too established in certain areas --Roadside Surveys --Making key observations --Successful eradication --Hand pulling --Weed whacking fountain grass prior to herbicide application requires less herbicide Tools: --Drone program --Pesticide (2) --Cattle grazing + rotation --Aerial spraying --Correct/Quality decontamination (2)
Challenge Species: --Thorny plants, such as ----Gorse (especially seeds flowing downstream) ----Himalayan raspberry (2) ----Blackberry --Strawberry guava (4) --Mule's Foot fern --Myrica faya --Invasive grasses (4), such as ----Paspalum ----digit grass ----guinea grass --Melastomes ----Clidemia (3) ----Tibouchina ----Miconia calvascens --Himalayan ginger --Banana polka --Japanese anemone --Homolanthus populifolius (2) --Conyza canadensis (horse tail weed) --Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis) --"Roving sailor" (Climbing snapdragon, Maurandya antirrhiniflora)
Success Species: --Strawberry guava control --Kukae Maile --Spraying gorse --Past blackberry control efforts --Gorse control in small units --Found and eradicated False-meadow beauty at Kona Hakalau Unit --Haole koa control in dryland --Eradication of new population of Rubbervine --Commercial nursery phased out Medinilla --Australian Tree Fern control
Restoration Challenges
Restoration Successes
Nursery (2), strategy (6), threatened and endangered species (1), and tools (1). Nursery Successes: --Germination percent increase --Better sanitation Restortation Strategy: --Fencing (securing grants and functioning fences) --Hāliʻi ʻaʻaliʻi (ʻaʻaliʻi thick enough to shade out grass, adding diversity after) --Finding rare plants --Banking seeds
Nursery (3), seeds (1), strategy (1), threats (8), and tools (2). Nursery and seeds: --Information/data that is current and accurate in regards to germination and growing native plants --Quality growers that can accommodate quantity --Access to diversity of seed for our nursery --Sourcing local seeds Strategy: --Weed control before and after planting --Limited knowledge of past restoration work to reference for informed decision making Threats: --Seed predation (Rats, birds) --Feral pigs --Wildfire --Fire ants --Invasive seed bank --ROD (2) Tools: --No viable seed storage (fridge)
Audience Description
We received feedback from 109 participants, with 60 out of 70 attendees providing feedback specific to the Weed Control day and 34 out of 48 giving feedback specific to the Restoration day.
Attendees represented a variety of roles, spanning from crew members to program managers. Other types of roles included outreach and communication, volunteers, interns and researchers. Less field crew members came to the restoration day, skewing representation towards specialists/ technicians on the restoration day. There were slightly more Program Managers in attendance on the Restoration day.
Weed Control Forum Participants
Restoration Forum Participants
What would you like to see at future meetings?
Below are brief summaries of the feedback that was shared pertaining to the nature of future gatherings.
Topics
Value in this type of meeting was apparent, participants reported to continue holding the forum (13). In addition to Weed Control, other management topics are desired (5)–predator control (1), fencing and ungulates (2). In general, there was a desire for field site components and hands-on opportunities during the meeting (13). The tool-tailgate was a success and participants wanted more (10), as well as feature other types of tools in a tailgates–such as restoration tools (2), selfcare/bodycare tools (1). Participants want more examples of practical application of weed control topics (9). Future gatherings should continue to feature breakout group discussions (4), group collaboration (5). Additional presentation topics (18) included dryland weed management topics (4), wet forest restoration (1), and more program participation (10) to give program updates (9) and share site-specific (1) information.
Agenda/facilitation (10)
Future agendas could feature more time for discussion (1), more structured breakouts(1), more facilitated mingling between organizations (1), more interactive components built in between talks (2), and connect managers about specific species (1). In addition to forums featuring knowledge exchange on the topics above, there was the suggestion to also gather as working groups (1) to address specific topics.
Other
In addition to continued knowledge exchange, there was mention of developing resources to facilitate information exchange and access–beyond any one meeting (5). Depending on funding availability, we will continue to try to provide food when we gather.
Day 1: Weed Control Agenda
8:00-9:15
9:15-9:30
9:30-10:40
10:40-11:40
11:40-12:40
12:40-1:30
1:30-3:00
3:00-3:30
Sign-in, coffee and light breakfast--Mahalo TMA Foundation for sponsoring coffee and our organizing team for providing light breakfast items
Activity: Gallery walk--participants add post-its with Weed Control challenges and success
Welcome
Short Presentations (10-20 minutes with Q&A)
Tool tailgate
Lunch--Mahalo TMA Foundation for sponsoring our lunch!
Short Presentations (10-20 minutes with Q&A)
Breakout workspaces to discuss and document weed control topics:
What we know, what we need to know
Wrap-up
Day 2: Restoration Agenda
8:00-9:15
9:15-9:30
9:30-11:00
11:00-12:00
12:00-11:00
1:00-3:00
3:00-3:30
Sign-in, coffee and light breakfast--Mahalo BIISC for sponsoring coffee and everyone who brought food to share
Activity: Gallery walk--participants add post-its with Restoration challenges and success
Welcome
Presentations: Seed scattering and seed production
Species access lists
Lunch--Mahalo BIISC for sponsoring our lunch!
Seed source activity and discussions
Wrap-up