Federal funding coming to Hawai‘i for brown tree snake interdiction programs

The US Department of Interior has approved $375,000 in funding to the Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture for efforts to prevent the introduction of the brown tree snake (BTS), which is the top invasive species threat to Hawai‘i. The funds awarded to Hawai‘i are part of more than $3.66 million approved by the USDOI to fight BTS.

The announcement was made in Hawai‘i earlier this week by USDOI Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs Carmen G. Cantor, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and HDOA Chairperson Sharon Hurd.

HDOA receives funds annually from USDOI for BTS interdiction activities as part of the agency’s funding allocations for BTS in the Pacific Islands. The federal funds support inspection and interdiction activities, including the Hawai‘i Detector Dog Program, for incoming air and sea flights and cargo shipments that arrive from Guam, Northern and Eastern Coastal Australia, Eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands, and other areas where BTS is known to inhabit. The funding also enables the deployment and monitoring of snake traps around military and commercial airports on O‘ahu, as well as staff training in BTS detection, capture and handling.

Since 1981, eight BTS have been found on O‘ahu. However, the last BTS found in Hawai‘i was in 1998 when a dead BTS was found in the wheel well of a commercial aircraft. Increased interdiction efforts on Guam to keep BTS away from airfields have been credited with the decrease in stowaway snakes.  Roughly 3,000 snakes per year are captured along the perimeter of the airfield at Andersen Air Force Base.

In Guam, BTS have decimated native bird populations and caused substantial ecological harm. BTS are responsible for power outages and also pose a threat to health and safety, especially for infants and toddlers who are more susceptible to its slightly venomous bite. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that introduction of BTS to Hawai‘i could result in between $596 million and $2.1 billion in annual economic damage.

“The federal funding for brown tree snake prevention efforts has been crucial to keeping the greatest invasive threat out of Hawai‘i,” said Hurd. “While other invasive species get the headlines, the general public does not realize how much work the department does to keep BTS out of Hawai‘i or the amount of training our staff undergo to be able to respond rapidly to reports of snakes in Hawai‘i. We are also grateful for our federal partners on Guam who have been extremely diligent in helping to keep BTS from reaching Hawai‘i.”

“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 tree snake 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.”

In 2023, the HDOA Plant Quarantine Branch conducted 1,037 inspections for BTS, with about 42.5% relating to military transport and 57.5% for commercial arrivals from Guam and other areas that have the BTS, including mail, passenger luggage, shipping containers, machinery, equipment and vehicles. Also in 2023, the Hawai‘i Detector Dog Program conducted 510 inspections with about 16% relating to military transport and 84% commercial transport from BTS areas. 

Besides inspections of all air and sea arrivals from Guam and other BTS areas, PQB has deployed 24 snake traps along the fence line at Hickam airfield, including three traps at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. These traps are maintained and monitored three times a week by PQB staff. With the added funding this year from Gov. Josh Green, M.D., and the Hawai‘i State Legislature, PQB plans to increase the number of traps around Hickam and potentially deploy traps around Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i in Kāne‘ohe and at Kalaeloa Airport.

In close collaboration with the US Geological Survey and the US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, PQB agricultural inspectors and technicians periodically train on Guam on how to spot and contain BTS and how to coordinate a rapid response to any snake detection in Hawai‘i. Additional training is also planned with the funds appropriated. The USGS coordinates training and certification for BTS rapid response, research, and helps to coordinate Pacific-wide BTS interdiction efforts. The USDA-WS is responsible for inspection, trapping and population management efforts on Guam to prevent the spread of BTS throughout the Pacific region.

The DOI provides critical funding support that is provided by Congress every year and 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 following is the funding for FY2024: