Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death

A new video, “Protecting Hawaiʻi’s Native Forests,” shows how ʻōhiʻa trees can thrive when animals are kept out of native forests. The UH film shows land across Hawaiʻi island that’s been fenced off for native plant conservation and illustrates the stark difference in ʻōhiʻa tree health between the land inhabited by animals and the land that has been blocked off.

As the focus this week turns to the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo, state agriculture officials are reminding people not to transport ʻōhiʻa lei off the Big Island due to the threat of rapid ʻōhiʻa death.

The annual ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest returns in person this month after two years of virtual events. It features potting workshops, a seed collecting hike, tree planting and more. HPR's Jayna Omaye has more.

A correlation between rapid ʻōhiʻa death and ungulates (hooved animals) such as boar and deer was discovered last year. The Department of Land and Natural Resources is fencing the trees away from the animals, but it needs more funding.

Almost four years after Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death was first detected in a lower-elevation forest in northeast Kauaʻi, the fungus known to exclusively infect ʻōhiʻa has been found in a higher elevation nature preserve.

Decorating the tree is among our most treasured Christmas traditions. But these iconic holiday centerpieces may be harboring some harmful critters."Pests…

LIHUE — A Hawaii scientific group has announced the discovery of new cases of a fungal disease that has killed thousands of native ??hi?a trees.The Kauai…

An ohia tree-killing fungal disease local to Hawaii was discovered spreading on Oahu after wildlife officials conducted an aerial survey of the island…

WAILUKU — A fungal disease local to Hawaii has not been rediscovered after being found on Maui for the first time earlier this year, officials said.The…

State and federal officials are investigating and responding to the deaths of several ??hi?a trees on Kaua?i.A few months ago, an official with the…