Kauai Mosquito Suppression Draft EA-Complete-06152023-508.pdf

The State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposes employing IIT to reduce mosquito populations within approximately 59,204 acres (23,959 hectares) of forest reserves, state parks, and private lands in the Kōkeʻe and Alakaʻi Wilderness areas of Kauaʻi to protect birds from mosquito-borne diseases in key higher-elevation native forest bird habitat. This effort is consistent with the statutory missions and responsibilities of the DLNR and USFWS. The multi-stakeholder project would raise and sequentially mass-release male mosquitoes that carry a strain of Wolbachia that is incompatible with natal females. Extensive pre- and post-release monitoring would be implemented to monitor the effectiveness of releasing incompatible male mosquitoes on the wild mosquito populations. A similar unconnected project has been proposed for implementation by the National Park Service and DLNR on the island of Maui1. To comply with their respective obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Hawaiʻi’s environmental review process pursuant to Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 343, the USFWS and DLNR are preparing 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. This EA provides background information concerning IIT and outlines the proposed action, potential impacts, and strategies to avoid and minimize potential negative effects of the proposed release of incompatible male mosquitoes within the project area on Kauaʻi.