COMMENTS ON THE STRAWBERRY GUAVA
No Haphazard And Indiscriminate Destruction Of Strawberry GuavaMay 21, 2008
I have learned of what appears to be a very misguided plan to control the spread of strawberry guava into native forests by introducing an alien species of insect which will kill or weaken the plants without regard to their location or their imminent threat to the native forests.
While I support preserving the integrity of native forests, there are ways to control the spread of the guava in a more precise manner than to depend upon an insect which will indiscriminately ruin this useful resource for the people of Hawaii.
If I as a private person were to intentionally introduce an alien insect into Hawaii to control a weed in my yard, I would probably go to jail. The simple reason for this is that the insect could not be confined to my yard, and when it goes onto other peoples' property, even if it still only attacks in their yard the same plant that I consider a weed, the other people may be trying to grow that same plant because they use it for their benefit. One person's weed is another person's food source, ornamental, or desirable plant. Even if 90 percent of the population consider the plant a weed, unless they can confine the effect of the introduction of the insect to their own property, that action still does harm to those 10 percent that consider the plant desirable. We should not be looking at what percent of the populace does not voice opposition to an act, but rather the inherent justice of that act.
For this reason I adamantly oppose this plan of releasing the alien insect, while supporting, when and where it is desirable, more precise methods for the control of the strawberry guava.
May 18, 2008
As one with a BS and MS in Forestry and more than 26 yrs experience in timber management, I feel a duty to respond to the recent notice in the HTH announcing USFS plans to release an "alien insect pest" to eliminate the strawberry guava ("waiwi"). My wife and I are strongly opposed to this action for the following reasons:
1) Once these insects have eliminated the waiwi, how can they be stopped from moving on to related species? Due to the extremely large population of waiwi, the insects' primary host, one can predict a tremendous population expansion of these insects in a fairly short time period. Will not these insects move on to psidium guajava, the yellow guava that is in commercial production in the island? Both guava are in the myrtaceae family which also contains eucalyptus, bottle brush, grumichana, surinam cherry, crepe myrtle, mountain apple & many others desirable for landscape & fruit production, not to mention the much-loved ohia. Who can guarantee that these insects will not put these species at risk of extinction?
2) Other methods are available which may be equally or more effective and controllable at containing the spread of waiwi. Chemical sprays and other mechanical means of plant control are applied only to the target area and only impact the target species. Who can guarantee that insects will stay active only in the target area or with the target species and not invade other areas?
3) Properly managed, the waiwi is an incredibly productive food source, useful for juice, jams, and desserts of many kinds. Waiwi supplies vitamin C and is a very good source of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Do we really want to eliminate a widely available and free variety of fruit?
4) Releasing these insects will result in the destruction of waiwi trees on private property without anyone obtaining the property owners' permission or even surveying affected owners. We strongly object to this violation of our property rights.
We certainly recogniuze that waiwi must be controlled in certain areas so that other valuable plant resources aren't threatened. We will be more than willing to help assist in the effort to identify a better control alternative than importing alien insect pests.
May 18, 2008
I wish to express my opposition to the intentional introduction of an insect pest to control or eliminate the strawberry guava.
I make my living from a small orchard and nursery here on the big island. I do not need another pest to do battle with.
I understand that it is specific to the strawberry guava, however insects are quite resourceful and if even a few of the insects learn to eat something else we will have a huge problem. One that can only be solved by constant spraying of expensive chemicals.
Thank you for your consideration.
May 17, 2008
I have recently read about the proposed plan to release an insect pest to control guavas.My family owns 3 acres of land in Hawaiian Acres and we know first-hand how valuable guava tress are. We all enjoy the fruit and eat it raw as well as preserving it as guava sauce. We know it is extremely nutritious and we will be outraged of this food supply is damaged. We also use the guava trees as a building material, once peeled and preserved it is a strong, light beautiful wood. We also use it for firewood. When seasoned and dry it it makes a bright cheery fire to cook and bar-b-q with, as well as to enjoy the delights of a campfire. If the guava infested areas are destroyed less useful invasive weeds will take over and the weed problem will not have been solved at all. I am also very concerned that this alien insect could cause other problems. How will it effect other plants and what impact will it have on the ecology in general? For the people of the Big Island to have a high quality of life it is imperative that we become sustainable. Learning to utilize what plants are already here, putting them to use iorder to keep them in control is one of the many necessary steps to doing this. Therefore, i know that the proposed insect pest to control guava is nothing less than an insane plan with dire consequences. I implore you to drop this plan and only consider plans in the future which take this island and it's inhabitants closer to living sustainably and in balance with the environment.
Aloha,