OIA NEWS RELEASEFOR FURTHER INFORMATION Hawaii Receives $195,000 from Office of Insular Affairs for Brown Treesnake Control and Research(WASHINGTON, D.C., February 18, 2005) The State of Hawaii will receive a grant in the amount of $195,000 from the Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs to help protect Hawaii from becoming infested with the brown treesnake, it was announced today. The grant will allow inspections of at least 90% of all high-risk cargo passing through Hawaii’s ports of entry, and will provide continued research on interdiction methods and procedures."The island governments have been struggling to keep up efforts to prevent the snake from leaving Guam and reaching Saipan or Hawaii," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior David B. Cohen. "The existing control program, which has been in operation over the past decade, has faced the challenge of keeping up with the demands of increased commercial and military flights. This grant will help to protect Hawaii from the type of ecological devastation that has occurred on Guam." The grant will be funded through the Office of Insular Affairs Brown Treesnake Control Program, which is designed to help control the brown treesnake population on Guam and prevent its spread to the State of Hawaii, the mainland United States and elsewhere. The brown treesnake was likely introduced to the island of Guam as a passive stowaway in a military cargo ship moving material after World War II. The brown treesnake has no natural predators on Guam, and has completely eliminated the populations of many species of birds and small mammals on Guam. |