The State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) have proposed a joint environmental assessment (EA) to address the impacts of the release of male mosquitoes with incompatible Wolbachia in the Kōkeʻe and Alakaʻi Wilderness areas of Kauaʻi. The EA provides information on Incompatible Insect Technique and outlines the proposed actions to reduce mosquito populations within approximately 59,204 acres (23,959 hectares) of forest reserves, state parks, and private lands to protect birds from mosquito-borne diseases in key higher-elevation native forest bird habitat.
A public meeting for the draft environmental assessment will be held at the Kauaʻi Philippine Cultural Center on July 11, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.