Judge sides with Hawaii to block challenge to mosquito release plan

HONOLULU (CN) — A planned program to save endemic Hawaiian birds from avian malaria by releasing thousands of biopesticide mosquitoes into Maui’s rainforest will go on, despite an attempt by an environmental nonprofit to block the project.

First Circuit Court Judge John Tonaki ruled Tuesday in favor of the state of Hawaii, its Department of Land and Natural Resources and conservationists to block a lawsuit claiming the state agency did not complete a proper environmental evaluation of program aimed at curbing mosquito population to prevent them from spreading avian malaria.

“This is a victory for our endangered forest birds who some native Hawaiians consider their ancestors,” Dawn Chang, chair of the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement. “The HEPA is an important tool that enables decisionmakers to assess environmental impacts — not the sword by which misinformation kills a project, aimed at saving native species.”

As with many other diseases, mosquitoes are significant vector in the transmission of avian malaria between the birds. The invasive southern house mosquito is currently the biggest threat to Hawaii’s birds, who have no natural immunity to the disease the mosquitoes transmit.

The Birds, Not Mosquitoes program — a collaborative proposal by state agencies and other government, private and nonprofit organizations including U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the University of Hawaii, and the American Bird Conservancy, among others — would implement the “incompatible insect technique” as a form of mosquito birth control.

The technique utilizes mosquitoes infected in a lab with the naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria, which affects insect reproduction. The infected pests are unable to produce viable offspring with either unafflicted insects or those with a different strain of the bacteria. According to the program, only male Wolbachia-treated mosquitoes, which do not bite or feed on blood, would be released into the Maui forests.

Maui-based organization Hawaii Unites had sued the state in May 2023, saying that the novel technique hadn’t been properly evaluated for its potential impacts on the environment or humans.

Tonaki ultimately sided with the state, granting summary judgment and declaring that the agency properly issued a “finding of no significant impact” in its final environmental assessment.

“A reading of the FEA reveals that many of the alleged issues raised by plaintiff, were, in fact, addressed in the FEA and that some of the potential impacts of the project were raised as mere possibilities by plaintiff. Such arguments do not establish that BLNR’s acceptance of the FEA and issuance of FONSI were clearly erroneous,” Tonaki wrote.

The American Bird Conservancy, which intervened in the case, also praised the decision.

“ABC and our partners in Birds, Not Mosquitoes (BNM) thoroughly evaluated this effort, and are pleased to see the court also agrees. We strongly believe that this approach is our best chance at preventing bird extinctions on Maui and are excited to continue moving forward with mosquito releases to save kiwikiu, ‘ākohekohe, and other native forest birds,” the conservancy’s Hawaii program director Chris Farmer said.

The birds of concern — including some of Hawaii’s most well-known like the i’iwi or scarlet Hawaiian honeycreeper — are endemic to higher elevations on the islands and historically had no natural predators. With climate change creating conditions for the spread of mosquitoes, along with other human intervention, native species have been decimated. Over half of the original 115 bird species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands have been declared extinct.

In the time between the case’s initial filing and this week’s ruling, eight species of Hawaiian honeycreeper were declared officially extinct by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Of the 50 different species of honeycreeper once spread throughout the islands, only 17 species remain — many of them endangered.

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