HI HB2081

Appropriates $284,011 from general revenues to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for fiscal year 2018-2019 to fund the National Wildlife Research Center's efforts to manage rose-ringed parakeet populations on Kauai.

Funds will support establishing protocols for pilot studies, conducting up to three field trials of control tools, updating population habitat and dispersal data, developing an effective control plan, and implementing an experimental population reduction program.

Rose-ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri) are invasive birds that have grown from 150-200 birds in 1994 to over 5,000 estimated birds on Kauai, causing significant agricultural damage to crops like lychee, longan, and rambutan.

Identified threats include agricultural and economic losses, ecological damage through invasive seed dispersal, potential disease transmission to humans and native wildlife, and quality-of-life issues for residents including noise and property damage.

Takes effect July 1, 2018.