Much of the opposition to the Hawaii Superferry focuses on the potential that the car carrying ship will help spread invasive species between the islands. However state law is largely concerned with stopping the spread of alien animals, not plants.

"I think we're really playing catch-up with invasive species issues,” says Christy Martin, public information officer for the statewide Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species. “A lot of people don't recognize [plants] as being a real problem, so we don't have those laws preventing new plants from coming in, although we have a law for new animals coming in.”

Eighty plants are currently on the state’s noxious weed list, but there are more than 200,000 species of plants known to exist worldwide. The noxious weed designation prevents anyone from moving such plants to an uninfested area, but does not prevent the plants from being sold.

“So we can bring in a plant that out competes miconia in its native range without even checking its background to see if it might be invasive here,” said Martin.

The Harold L. Lyon Arboretum in Manoa has gone above and beyond state law by agreeing to follow Codes of Conduct, a set of voluntary rules set up by botanical gardens and the nursery industry to help stop the spread of invasive fauna.

“Many gardens have been asked to sign on to this and we're the first one in Hawaii to have done so,” said Lyon Arboretum Director, Dr. Christopher Dunn.

As part of its agreement to follow voluntary Codes of Conduct Lyon Arboretum will take part in the Hawaii Weed Risk Assessment program; a list of 49 questions that help determine a plant’s potential as an invasive species.

“The arboretum has agreed that any new plant they bring into the state to start growing they will run it through an assessment process,” says Martin.

17 to 18% of Hawaii’s 1,800 native plants are on the federal government’s Endangered Species List. Dunn says stopping the spread of invasive plants to other islands is paramount to preserving the state’s fragile ecosystem. He says there should be strict controls on the Hawaii Superferry to prevent the spread of harmful plants and animals, but such efforts will do little unless they are applied to other forms of transportation.

"If you take politics and everything else aside, if you're serious about conserving what is remaining of Hawaii's native vegetation, the plant life and animal life, then you have to look across the board and see where are the risks.”

Dunn says invasive plants could be spread by something as mundane as mud on a traveler’s shoes and it wouldn’t matter whether that person traveled by plane or boat.

“So if you just wash your shoes off when you're going to one place to another,” said Dunn, “that's a little thing that every person can do.”

Andrew may be reached at apereira@khon2.com or ph. 591-4263.

Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment