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.
Environmental and economic impacts of the invasive snake
The snakes were hidden in cargo when accidentally introduced to Guam in the 1940s or 1950s, and have since become a significant problem there — both ecologically and economically.
They’ve led to the extinction of nine of Guam’s 12 native bird species and two of its 11 native lizard species. They were also allowed to proliferate, and at one point there were 50 snakes per acre because there are no predators, diseases or competitors to keep the snake population in check.
Christy Martin, the program manager for Hawaiʻi’s Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, said such a high number of snakes leads to changes in the food web.
“When you don't have birds, there's this whole ecological shift that happens. There's more insects, there's more spiders … native seeds don't get dispersed in the way that they used to by birds,” she said.
If the brown tree snake were to become established in Hawaiʻi, it could have similarly devastating impacts because its population growth would also go unchecked.
They also cause havoc on infrastructure, crawling into and around sewage and electrical lines and boxes, and other spaces. That’s led to frequent power outages that cost Guam $4.5 million per year.
The impact of the snake on Hawaiʻi’s economy could be anywhere from $593 million to $2.14 billion annually.
A large cause of that economic impact would be power outages. But a survey of tourists suggests brown tree snakes have the potential to cause even greater losses in tourism.
Hawaiʻi has managed to keep the snakes off boats and planes – so far
This species is one of the state’s top concerns when it comes to invasive threats. The risk of bringing brown tree snakes to Hawaiʻi from Guam is high, but it’s no accident that it hasn’t been seen in the state over the last three decades.
The contracted USDA employees on Guam are able to search for and clear the snake in nearly all the cargo leaving the island, catching thousands every year before they leave inside planes, ships and containers headed for Hawaiʻi and the continental U.S.
In addition to the potential for economic and ecological problems, local officials suggest that the federal government is more responsive to keeping employees for public safety or national security reasons.
Sharon Hurd, the chair of the state Department of Agriculture, said a federally supported brown tree snake training program was stopped last month. Removing the program could allow the species to reach not just Hawaiʻi but other states as well, making it a national security problem.
“Within 48 hours, we heard that the training was reinstated, and the reason… was that national security was a consideration,” Hurd said.
Similarly, the contracted workers’ jobs could have been saved because of the safety services they provide at airports – they keep birds from hitting and damaging airplane engines.
“I think because they have this obvious safety component to their position of mitigating hazard airstrikes, that justified their position. Now, if they were probably just doing brown tree snake work, I don't know if that would have been the case,” said Arnott of the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council.
Martin of the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species said bird strikes are a problem on Guam.
“You would think that because there's so few birds, that there wouldn't be much of a bird strike issue, but … because airports are protected from tree snakes, they're actually more likely to nest in airports because they're protected,” she said.
Broader impacts on biosecurity and conservation efforts
While the affected contracted workers are safe for now, the federal funding cuts have still affected brown tree snake mitigation work.
Several probationary employees with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who supported work on the snake were let go. State agencies are working to bring them back as emergency hires.
But brown tree snake efforts aren’t the only biosecurity-related work in Hawaiʻi impacted by outside support.
Arnott said stony coral tissue loss disease is “decimating” coral reefs in the Caribbean. Agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration help keep away diseases and marine invasive species that could be brought into Hawaiʻi on ships.
NOAA is one of several federal agencies facing cuts from the Trump administration.
Arnott also noted that the state Agricultural Department can only inspect agricultural goods imported from domestic locations, so Hawaiʻi relies on separate entities to inspect everything else.
Another top invasive species concern for Hawaiʻi is the red imported fire ant, which can hitchhike on non-agricultural packages.
Federal cuts could also impact ongoing efforts for already introduced species.
“If there's… a lack of focus on invasive species, prevention and management at the federal level, that is going to put a lot of pressure on our state and county resources, and it's going to make it very challenging to do the work that needs to be done on the ground for species like little fire ant, coconut rhinoceros beetle — these things that are already here,” Arnott said.
