Assistant Secretary Cantor Meets Hawai’i Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke to Announce $375,000 in Preventive Brown Treesnake Funding for Hawai’i

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor met yesterday with Hawai’i Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke to announce $375,000 in Brown Treesnake (BTS) Control Program funding and ongoing efforts to prevent the introduction of the BTS to Hawai’i from Guam. Hawai’i Department of Agriculture officials also attended the meeting.

This year, the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) is providing a total of $3,660,513 in BTS Control Program funding for federal, state, and territorial partners in ongoing efforts to control the BTS on Guam and prevent it from spreading to Hawai’i, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and elsewhere in the region. 

I was honored to meet with Lt. Governor Luke and Department of Agriculture leadership to help bring awareness to the ongoing support to prevent the spread of the Brown Treesnake to Hawai’i,” said Assistant Secretary Cantor. “We recognize the importance of agricultural biosecurity for the State of Hawai’i and the vigilance necessary to protect a fragile environment and to prevent the accidental introduction of another high-risk invasive species like the BTS.” 

“Thank you to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary Cantor, and our Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture for the coordinated effort to protect our unique biodiversity,” said Lt. Governor Luke. “As Hawaiʻi continues to fight against the spread of invasive species, Federal, state, and local partnerships are critical to control risks of pests and secure Hawaiʻi’s biosecurity borders.”

Efforts to fight the BTS are successful due to the collaboration among many partners, to whom

OIA announces the distribution of fiscal year 2024 funding as follows:

Since its accidental introduction on Guam after World War II and without natural predators on Guam, the BTS has caused the drastic decline of native bird populations on-island, causing cascading ecological consequences that threaten forest resiliency and other natural systems on Guam. Every year, the BTS causes ground faults and short circuits that result in power outages. BTS toxins from bites also present health and safety concerns for infants and young children.

It is estimated that thousands of BTS are caught and removed every year from the civilian air and seaport on Guam which is the main U.S. transportation hub with direct flights to Hawai’i from the Western Pacific. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Wildlife Research Center estimates that the accidental introduction of BTS to Hawai’i could result in between $593 million and $2.14 billion in annual economic damage.

With this critical funding support that is provided by Congress every year, Interior continues to work closely with federal, state, and territorial partners to mitigate the BTS threat on Guam and to prevent the spread of this invasive species to the Northern Mariana Islands, the Micronesia region, and the State of Hawai’i.

The Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. OIA also administers a discretionary Technical Assistance Program for all the Insular Areas. Find information about OIA and its work on www.doi.gov/oia, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

###