HALEIWA, Hawaii (KHON2) — The battle continues to fight a destructive and invasive bug that is taking over infested palm trees.
According to the City and County of Honolulu, about 100 palm trees have been removed from beach parks in West Oahu due to coconut rhinoceros beetle infestations.
The work isn’t over yet as officials plan to remove dozens of trees from Oahu’s North Shore and Leeward Coast over the next few months.
“Primarily, we just started over on the leeward coast from Kea’au down to Ewa Beach, which we had to, unfortunately, remove about a hundred palm trees along those shoreline parks. Now we will be surveying from Mokuleia down to Waimanalo doing the same thing,” said Nate Serota, DPR head of Public Relations and spokesperson.
To help identify the infested trees, the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Division of Urban Forestry surveyed shoreline parks and trees.
Inspectors look for impacts to the palm fronds, searching for jagged leaves and affected crowns. Once the infected palms are identified, they are removed, minimizing concerns for public safety.
“It’s another sad day for us, we don’t like removing trees, especially trees like the coconut,” said Roxanne Adams, DPR Urban Forestry administrator. “Not only is it the tree of life, but culturally very important to the Hawai’i people.”
While the City plans to keep as many trees as possible, Adams ensured they will be planting new coconut trees once coconut rhinoceros beetle infestations are under control.
“We’ll be back. Our palm experts from around the world can help us establish a way to control them, we’ll be back to plant more coconuts,” Adams added.
Officials urge the public to monitor their own trees and trees in public spaces to help keep everyone safe.