Wednesday March 5, 2025
Hawai’i Public Radio —
Federal staff cuts and funding freezes could threaten Hawaiʻi’s ability to keep invasive species at bay.
Last month, as part of the Trump administration’s slash to services and spending, 60 contracted U.S. Department of Agriculture employees on Guam and over a dozen in Hawaiʻi were told their contracts wouldn’t be picked up again after they end, including some workers who were scheduled to finish this summer.
The administration has since walked back that decision — a sigh of relief for those who work with invasive species locally. That’s because they’re responsible for keeping the brown tree snake away from the islands.
“Those people work day and night with trapping dog teams to make sure brown tree snakes are being reduced at the ports, the military airports and also commercial airports. And because of that work, we haven’t had a brown tree snake detection in Hawaiʻi since the 1990s,” said Chelsea Arnott, coordinator for the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council.