{"id":53650,"date":"2016-11-30T15:11:27","date_gmt":"2016-12-01T01:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=53650"},"modified":"2019-02-25T14:45:00","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T00:45:00","slug":"state-holds-first-rapid-ohia-death-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2016\/11\/30\/state-holds-first-rapid-ohia-death-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"State holds first Rapid \u02bb\u014chi\u02bba Death Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"Symptoms <\/p>\n

Lead scientists joined Governor David Ige and other top policy makers for the first Rapid ʻŌhiʻa<\/span> Death Summit on November 30. State and federal experts, including University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a> researcher Gordon Bennett<\/strong><\/a>, provided situation reports on the disease and presented the recently completed, strategic response plan which will guide the statewide response to this dire threat to Hawaiʻi<\/span>’s most iconic tree species. <\/p>\n

The fungal disease has devastated more than 50,000 acres of native ʻŌhiʻa<\/span>, one of Hawaiʻi<\/span>’s most prized and culturally important forest trees. Understanding the disease and how to prevent or slow further spread is a top priority. Gov. Ige said, “Rapid ʻŌhiʻa<\/span> death has prompted the mobilization of several state and federal agencies and is a top priority for leading researchers who are learning more about this disease as they work to stop it from spreading.” <\/p>\n