Dozens of infested coconut trees have been marked for removal on Oahu’s North Shore. Will they be replaced? Honolulu arborists will begin cutting down dozens of dead and dying palm trees between Mokuleia and Haleiwa next week, adding to the coconut rhinoceros beetle’s mounting toll on Hawaii’s landscapes. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation has marked 80 trees for removal due to public safety concerns since the crowns of the damaged trees threaten to fall on people below.
The felling of the trees on the North Shore comes as the city and state struggle to contain the destructive insect, which has spread since it was first found on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in late 2013. Though 80 coconut palms represent a fraction of Oahu’s more than 200,000 municipal trees , experts warn their removal is only the beginning. Not only does it hurt the scenic shoreline, the beetles are an obstacle to the county’s goal of increasing the number of trees to help fight climate change.
The city plans to start removing the North Shore palm trees Monday at Kaiaka Bay Beach Park in Haleiwa after a similar operation on the Leeward Coast. Meanwhile officials face the question of whether to replace the palms, and if so with what since the CRB threat remains. ‘Not Just The Parks’ CRB Response Deputy Incident Commander Keith Weiser supports the idea of replanting the same species of trees.
But that would require more commitment to managing the beetle and its breeding sites from.