2021 Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month Awards

Invasive species have devastating effects on Hawaiʻi’s agriculture, ecosystem health, and human health. February is Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month (HISAM), when we raise awareness about these threats while also celebrating the good work done to protect Hawaiʻi from invasive species.

As part of these celebrations, the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) Support Program coordinates awards that recognize the contributions of individuals, organizations, and businesses in the fight against invasive species. The 2021 HISAM Award recipients are presented below.

The 2021 HISAM Awards are presented virtually by State legislators. Mahalo to Senate President Kouchi, Representative Tokioka, Representative Morikawa, Representative Nakamura, Senator Gabbard, Representative Wildberger, Representative DeCoite, Representative Lowen, and Representative Tarnas for helping us go virtual in 2021, and congratulations to all the award recipients!

HISAM is hosted by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), with both agencies serving as co-leads of the interagency  Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC). 

The HISC and its partners have coordinated an annual recognition of invasive species impacts each year since 2013. The event was originally designed as Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Week, but we quickly found that there was so much to talk about, and so many people and projects to celebrate, that in 2018 the event was expanded to last an entire month.

In addition to the HISAM Awards, invasive species partners across Hawaiʻi provided educational webinars on invasive species impacts and the work done to prevent and control invasive species. You can find recordings of those webinars on the  HISC Support Program's YouTube channel.