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Requires the Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture to continue coordinated research, management, and restoration efforts addressing Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death in the State of Hawai‘i. It defines “Rapid Ohia death” and “State” (Hawaii), directs USGS and the Forest Service to continue research on disease vectors and transmission, directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue partnering on ungulate management in control areas with private landowner consent, and directs the Forest Service to continue providing financial assistance and staffing/infrastructure support to the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry for research and restoration.
The bill strengthens coordination, research, and restoration to protect Hawai‘i’s ʻōhiʻa forests and local economies but does so with limited scope and without new dedicated funding, creating trade-offs between localized environmental gains and broader funding, equity, and implementation risks.
State and federal land managers, researchers, and Hawai‘i communities gain improved coordination and sustained research/monitoring capacity to detect, study, and respond to Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death.
Residents, landowners, and local economies in Hawai‘i receive forest restoration funding and financial assistance that help preserve native ʻōhiʻa forests, cultural resources, and tourism-linked jobs.
State agencies in Hawai‘i gain a clear statutory definition of 'Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death' and explicit identification of the applicable 'State,' reducing legal ambiguity for local implementation and decisionmaking.
Taxpayers and other federal conservation priorities may shoulder ongoing costs because the bill continues research, management, and restoration spending without specified new offsets or dedicated new funding.
Communities and forests outside Hawai‘i may be left unprotected because the measure narrowly defines the affected 'State' as Hawai‘i, limiting applicability to other jurisdictions that could face similar outbreaks.
State governments, federal agencies, and affected communities face risk of inconsistent or delayed disease-control actions because the bill mandates coordination but provides no new funding, timelines, or detailed implementation requirements.
Introduced January 13, 2025 by Jill Tokuda · Last progress February 14, 2025