Mass Release of Experimental Mosquitoes to Begin on Kaua‘i This Month
With no study of the serious risks of these mosquitoes and no data showing any results on Maui, agencies target the next island
Despite the fact that agency partners releasing millions of bacteria-infected mosquitoes in the fragile ecosystems of East Maui have done no studies on the potential significant impacts of the project and have produced no data on the effects of these invasive insects, plans are already underway to unleash this travesty on the next island. Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP) has announced that “landscape-releases” are beginning on Kaua‘i this month.
The Hawaiian Islands have become testing grounds for dangerous biotech experiments, and the agenda is escalating. The money keeps rolling in, and the agencies involved appear solely focused on assuring that their budgets continue to benefit from this cash cow of funding. Our communities have voiced overwhelming opposition to these mosquito releases. Serious risks to the health of Hawai‘i’s people, wildlife, and ‘āina have not been addressed. Still, the Birds, Not Mosquitoes (BNM) partnership continues plowing ahead with reckless disregard.
In November 2023, BNM began the release of millions of Wolbachia-bacteria-infected mosquitoes in the 64,666-acre project area of East Maui. Our active court case to stop the mosquito releases and require an environmental impact statement (EIS) was already in progress. We brought forward several significant concerns, including:
Accidental release of female mosquitoes that bite, breed, and spread disease (EPA guidelines allow for the weekly release on Maui of over 3,000 females)
Peer-reviewed studies showing Wolbachia bacteria can cause increased pathogen infection and disease-spreading capability in mosquitoes
Horizontal transmission of Wolbachia bacteria to wild mosquitoes and other insect vectors of disease
Population replacement of wild mosquitoes with lab-altered mosquitoes
Wind drift of released mosquitoes to unintended areas
Lack of documented biosecurity protocols and pathogen screenings for mosquitoes
Risks to the health of people and animals, and the potential for the plan to cause the extinction of the native birds it is meant to protect
Numerous additional issues are raised in our case. Perhaps most alarming is the lack of study of the potential risks of this project by the agencies involved. During testimony at our TRO and preliminary injunction hearing, tropical disease expert and witness Dr. Lorrin Pang was asked by our attorney, “As it is currently being proposed, in your expert opinion, has this experiment been studied enough for the State and its agency partners to move forward?” Pang, a leader in mitigating mosquito-borne diseases for decades who has authored over 75 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, over 40 of which are focused specifically on mosquito-borne illnesses, responded with a clear and resounding “No.”
The mosquitoes currently being released in the millions on Maui and starting mass release on Kaua‘i this month are experimental. Southern house mosquitoes lab-infected with Wolbachia bacteria have never been documented as used for stand-alone field release anywhere in the world. The East Maui project area is the largest Wolbachia mosquito release of any kind globally to date. Kaua‘i’s 59,204-acre project area will be the second largest, covering almost 17% of the entire island.

Millions of dollars in federal funding are driving this mosquito agenda (over $33 million and counting), along with plans for additional funds through grants, public-private partnerships, and state budget line-item funding. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) also has an insectary on O‘ahu where they intend to mass produce lab-altered mosquitoes for release on the islands into perpetuity (forever). Future plans include more bacteria-infected mosquitoes, mosquito gene drives, precision-guided Sterile Insect Technique (pgSIT) CRISPR gene-edited mosquitoes, and the release of lab-altered mosquitoes throughout the islands to “control mosquitoes of public health concern.”
The DLNR recently announced that real estate, said to be state-owned, near Hanapēpē Bay on the island of Kaua‘i will be handed over to their BNM partners through a no-cost 25-year lease.
“The property will be utilized for the benefit of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, College of Natural Sciences, Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit (PCSU) on behalf of the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP), the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP), and the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi (RCUH).”
Once all “squatters” and their personal effects are removed, the takeover can begin. According to the DLNR announcement, KFBRP is bringing in big money through this biotech mosquito experimentation agenda:
“Due to the recent dramatic declines in forest bird populations on Kaua‘i and new advances in technologies to address their primary threat, mosquito-borne diseases, KFBRP’s budget and staff have recently increased almost two-fold.”
According to joint testimony submitted to the BLNR by KFBRP’s program manager, a propaganda campaign (“outreach”) is being planned for the site, and future funding plans for the property are also in the works:
“Our programs, particularly KFBRP, are rapidly growing given the magnitude and speed of the declines in native bird species, and the new promise of the Incompatible Insect Technique to combat the main threat to Hawaiian Honeycreepers, mosquito-borne diseases”
“The Dog Pound is on a well-traveled road and we plan to hold outreach events and/or provide an outreach display to help bring awareness about the threats facing the birds and potential solutions (‘what you can do’)”
“The value of the lease will provide an important in-kind match for federal grants that support both these projects”
“Both projects have already secured some funding to help improve and maintain the property and will work with DOFAW and other partners to bring in other funding.”
Grant funding has been pouring in. Just one of the grants announced gives KFBRP a whopping $644,758 to “support on-the-ground efforts in its battle against avian malaria.” BNM partners are all cashing in on the opportunity to use sacred lands as a petri dish for dangerous lab-altered insect experiments.
“A like amount of grant funding was also awarded to the University of Hawai‘i and the US Geological Survey for continued research to improve mosquito breeding to create non-viable offspring to reduce the disease transmission to Hawaiian honeycreeper forest birds.”
As KFBRP’s and their BNM partners’ budgets grow, so does the excitement of these agencies’ spokespeople. Rather than focusing on ensuring that Hawai‘i’s fragile ecosystems and native bird habitats are protected from risky products like these bacteria-infected mosquitoes, cash flow is the focus, and recipients are all in on shilling for the biotech industry and their novel “Incompatible Insect Technique” Wolbachia-infected southern house mosquitoes.
“We are very excited to be involved in this effort to use top-notch science to help us advance conservation of critically endangered forest bird species through reduction of mosquito-borne disease. Funding from the Partnership to Advance Conservation and Practice program will allow KFBRP to better monitor and refine the application and efficacy of a new tool, the Incompatible Insect Technique, to suppress mosquitoes in Hawaiian forest bird habitat.”

Meanwhile, deviations from the already dangerous approved plan have been transpiring on Maui for over a year now. As stated in our court case, mosquitoes are being released solely by helicopter rather than by drone, exacerbating concerns about noise disturbances, disruptions to wildlife habitat, and the potential for collisions, accidents, and wildland fires. We’ve also pointed out that the helicopter longline release system described in the environmental assessment is not the system being used, and that helicopters appear to be flying closer to the tree canopy than the approved distance, increasing the potential for adverse impacts. There’s been no indication that these issues have been addressed on Maui. As we continue to fight this in court, we anticipate that these kinds of deviations will likely be occurring on Kaua‘i.
So far, the “top-notch science” touted by advocates of these mosquito releases has produced no data to indicate that their suppression technique is even working. In fact, BNM partners have been further deviating from their stated plans by spraying another bacterium into the environment in an apparent attempt to fix the problem of lack of effectiveness of the experimental mosquitoes. Aerial spraying of Bti larvicide on Maui and Kaua‘i in combination with the aerial release of bacteria-infected mosquitoes is now part of the ever-changing narrative. The agencies involved have yet to answer serious questions about how they intend to prevent data falsification while using two different mosquito suppression products within each project area, nor have they done any studies on the impacts this onslaught may have on our environment.
In October 2023, Hawai‘i Unites contested the Board of Land and Natural Resources’ (BLNR’s) approval of these mosquito releases on Kaua‘i. We filed a petition for a contested case hearing at that time, but the BLNR has yet to include our petition as an agenda item in any of their twice-monthly meetings. In November 2023, pro se plaintiffs on Kaua‘i filed their own case through the courts to stop the releases, but no trial or hearing has been scheduled for that case.
In May 2024, the BLNR voted for more money and an extended contract period for the Kaua‘i mosquito releases. 100% of the written and verbal testimony for that meeting was in opposition to mosquito experimentation on the islands. Some of the testifiers’ concerns included:
“The agencies involved in the project have lied about the introduction of foreign organisms into the islands…”
“To just dive right into this experimental program without a serious long term EIS is irresponsible. You are here to protect us and our environment.”
“There has been no documentation offered to the public outlining risk analysis conducted on the security vulnerabilities for lab bred mosquitoes that can be utilized as bioweapons against a population (intended) nor details of quality control mechanisms for accidental transmission of pathogens (unintended).”
“Releasing a flying organism whose habitat is water makes a mockery of the idea of a control group, to weigh up the risks and benefits.”
“The agencies releasing these lab-altered mosquitoes have admitted that the plan does not include monitoring the effects of the experimental mosquitoes on forest birds. That’s outrageous.”
“Persons who are interested to save the birds would not just accept unstudied mechanisms that could also cause great social harm.”
“Are you, as board members voting on the fate of our delicate island ecosystem, even informed enough on the science involved to make an accurate risk assessment?”
Without addressing the issues raised in numerous pages of testimony in opposition, and with no testimony in support of the agenda item, the board voted unanimously to double the contract amount and the contract period for bacteria-infected mosquito releases on Kaua‘i.
As this disgraceful money-making scheme carries on under the guise of “conservation,” Hawai‘i Unites is urging everyone who cares about the health of these islands to continue speaking out against these dangerous biotech experiments on sacred lands. Question why the agencies involved don’t refocus on more environmentally sound approaches like habitat and stream flow restoration, which would honor the ‘āina, the culture, and the ancestral connections of the native birds rather than putting them at further risk of extinction.
Hawai‘i Unites has taken state agencies to court to stop the release of bacteria-infected mosquitoes on Maui, ground zero for these dangerous biotech experiments. This case is so strong that the defendants are afraid to face us in court again, and they certainly don’t want the discovery process to resume. We’re currently in appeals court seeking a ruling that the case be remanded back to the circuit court and go to trial. We are determined to set a precedent to strengthen environmental laws for all islands and impact the course of this agenda worldwide.
Your tax-deductible donations support the work that we’re doing to protect the ‘āina and help us continue to move our active court case forward.
Mahalo,
Tina Lia
Founder
Hawai‘i Unites
HawaiiUnites.org
Hawai‘i Unites is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation and protection of our environment and natural resources. Your tax-deductible donations help us to fulfill our mission of honoring and protecting our sacred connection to the natural world.
Report a Mosquito Bite
The State of Hawai‘i and its multi-agency partnership Birds, Not Mosquitoes have been releasing bacteria-infected mosquitoes in East Maui and conducting pilot study releases on Kaua‘i since 2023. As part of our ongoing research and documentation, Hawai‘i Unites has been compiling reports from throughout the islands about unusual mosquito bite reactions. If you’ve been bitten by a mosquito and would like to report the incident, please complete our Mosquito Bite Incident Report.