‘Our shared kuleana’: State leaders honor those who protect Hawaiʻi from invasive species

Invasive species in Hawaiʻi represent more than a policy issue.

They require a constant battle, one that needs everyone’s buy-in and cooperation to fight, and Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green is grateful so many people throughout the islands have signed up to be on the front lines — even if the numbers might be fewer than hoped.

“I know that it has been an ongoing fight to get enough people, to have enough support, to make sure that we’re all in so that Hawaiʻi is really protected,” Green said during a recent event at the state Capitol in Honolulu. “I’m aware of the biodiversity challenges we have. I’m also super aware of what happens when we upset our ecosystem — and when invasive species run amok, it can be just very, very difficult.”

There are old foes such as biting buggah little fire ants, forever crazing coqui frogs, always adverse albizia trees and forest reaper rapid ʻōhiʻa death.

And new enemies including palm craving coconut rhinoceros beetles that already decimated swaths of trees on Oʻahu’s North Shore but fortunately has been stopped from making inroads on other islands.

So it’s easy to see why the problem is overwhelming.

“[Invasive species] compromise our forests, reefs, native plants and wildlife, agriculture and even our health and water,” Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Chairwoman and Co-Chairwoman of Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council Dawn Chang said in a recent news release.

However, all hope is not lost.

“The essence of our shared kuleana is to safeguard Hawaiʻi from the devastating impacts of invasive species,” the chairwoman said.

The state takes time during one month every year to relieve some of the stress to focus on educating people about invasive species with a goal of enlisting more troops to the cause as well as recognizing the strides made and great efforts put forth by veteran soldiers who have been fighting for years.

May is Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month — a month, Chang said, that is all about the people and organizations who rise to meet the challenges invasive species create “with passion, commitment and aloha.”

A monthlong series of public webinars and volunteer events designed to raise awareness about the impacts of invasive species in Hawaiʻi culminated with an event at the Capitol during which Green signed an official Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month proclamation.

Green and Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council also honored community members and local businesses helping fight the good fight against invasive species.

The 2025 awards recognized a Most Valuable Player, or MVP, who made substantial contributions to the battle against invasive species on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui Nui and Hawaiʻi Island.

Winners in statewide categories Business Leader, Community Hero and Greatest Hit also were awarded.

ISLAND MVPS FOR 2025

• HAWAIʻI ISLAND MVP: Kiane Prietto for her outstanding dedication to invasive species education and community outreach.
• MAUI NUI MVP: Mike Opgenorth for his leadership in conservation, outreach and invasive species response in East Maui.
• OʻAHU MVP: Thomas Griego for being a proactive community member by leading outreach and access coordination for little fire ants in Lanikai, which helped crews overcome major obstacles and continue control efforts.
• KAUAʻI MVP: Work It Out Kauaʻi (Jenny and Jasmine Kaohelauliʻi) for their creative and sustained commitment to invasive species outreach through fashion, media and community engagement.

STATEWIDE AWARDEES FOR 2025

• BUSINESS LEADER: Aloha Termite and Pest Control for its leadership in combatting little fire antsand how the private sector can play a critical role in invasive species management.
• COMMUNITY HERO: Haleakalā Ranch for protecting rangelands and native ecosystems from invasive species while producing local food and stewarding large open spaces on Maui.
• GREATEST HIT: Trenton Yasu for his rapid and professional response to a 643pest.org report involving freshwater eels, a restricted aquatic species.

Hawaiʻi Island MVP Prietto is a teacher at public charter school Kanu o ka ʻĀina in Waimea. She taught 15 students in grades 6-8 during the 2024-25 school year in every subject except math and Hawaiian language.

“Kumu Kiane integrates invasive species topics into her curriculum through project-based learning, empowering her haumāna with hands-on field experiences,” says the certificate marking her MVP award, which was signed by state lawmakers.

Prietto’s dedication to teach keiki about invasive species and revitalizing Hawaiʻi’s biodiversity is expertly portrayed in the community outreach and field work she and her students have done involving kāhuli, or native Hawaiian snail species, they discovered on the Big Island’s Mauna Kea.

She also participated in the BIORETS REACHES summer program under principal investigator Norine Yeung, who is an assistant researcher at University of Hawai‘i Center for Conservation Research and Training, gaining expertise in native and invasive snail research and translating that knowledge into student-led biodiversity surveys.

Prietto’s focus on project-based learning and the research she and her students have done even led to her having a chance at becoming “America’s Favorite Teacher” earlier this year.

Her commitment extends beyond the classroom, too.

After finding little fire ants in her neighborhood, Prietto coducted community outreach via social media to raise awareness about the invasive pests and promote action against them.

“Kumu Kiana exemplifies leadership, innovation and pilina with ʻāina,” says her MVP award certificate.

This year’s Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month theme was “What’s at Risk: From Mauka to Makai.”

The month featured a series of live educational webinars from local invasive species experts, recordings of which are now available on the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council website.

Webinar topics included creating new habitat for critically endangered bird species, controlling coqui frogs on Maui and community engagement with invasive species management.

Though Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month is now past, the challenges of invasive species remain.

Help prevent and manage invasive species by reporting them to 808-643-PEST (7378) or 643pest.org, cleaning off your shoes and equipment before entering the forest and cleaning boats and marine equipment before use.

If you’re on the Big Island, you can also contact Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee via phone at 808-821-1490 or email at biisc@hawaii.edu to report invasive species.

News reporter Nathan Christophel contributed to this story.