MEDIA RELEASE

The County of Hawai‘i will be continuing its Coqui Frog Community Loan Sprayer program after previously announcing it would end with a public auction of the County’s coqui frog spraying equipment.

The loan sprayer program had been slated to end on April 30.

County Mayor Billy Kenoi announced today that the program will continue its current assignment of 26 County sprayers to coqui “cooperators,” or organizations that use the County’s sprayers on loan to control frogs in their communities. Therefore, there will be no equipment auction.

The County currently loans coqui sprayers to community cooperators and employs its own two-member crew for coqui control.

Due to budget constraints, after April 30, the County will no longer be doing its own spraying to control coqui frogs. Community cooperators may continue using the equipment at no cost but they will be responsible for costs related to the sprayers including repairs and spraying materials.

The coqui frog community loan sprayer program, currently a function of the Mayor’s Office, will be moved to the County’s agriculture office in the Department of Research and Development. Until April 30, callers with coqui concerns may call 961-8065 for more information and referral to one of the County’s community cooperators to borrow a sprayer.

The new number for the loan sprayer program after April 30 will be announced.