We are the Big Island Invasive Species Committee
Our mission is to prevent, detect, and control the establishment and spread of invasive species threats to our environment, economy, and way of life. We work island-wide protecting our native forests, communities, and agriculture from new and ongoing threats.
Contact us to bring BIISC to your community!
Our goal is to help community members work together to address the impacts of little fire ants on our island.
Make good planting decisions for our ʻāina
We endorse and promote businesses that voluntarily act to protect their business and their community from the threat of invasive species.
Form an Albizia Control Team in Your Neighborhood!
BIISC works with community associations, boards, neighborhood watch groups, or community organizations that want to address albizia.
Invasive Species in Hawaiʻi
Invasive species have a two-part definition: first, they must have been introduced to an area, arriving through human intervention (unlike native species, which arrived on their own via wind, wings, or waves). However, the introduction alone does not mean a species is invasive. Many introduced species can have deep importance for us: they may be culturally important plants such as ti leaf or kalo, key agricultural crops like mac nuts and coffee, beneficial insects like bees and butterflies, or simply beloved for their beauty, like bird-of-paradise. Although none of these species are biologically native to the islands, they have become a critical part of the Hawaiian landscape and the human relationships with the natural environment of our islands.
