Coqui Community Engagement Questionnaire Results

Mahalo to everyone who responded to our Community Engagement Questionnaire that MISC sent out in April. We have heard a lot of great feedback and ideas from the community. 

The goal of the questionnaire was two-fold: first, to determine how we could assist people during the stay at home order and secondly, to gather feedback to improve the coqui program in the future. 

Thanks to one respondent, we learned of and are responding to a new pocket of frogs near the reservoir off Kokomo in Haʻikū. Recently she sent this update:  “I woke up at 3 am and took a moment to listen outside. I didn’t hear any coqui! I will listen again this evening. Mahalo to you & the crew!” This report highlights our need for community members across Maui to be our ears on the ground. Mahalo for letting us know about these frogs! 

As the weather continues to warm into the summer months the frogs will be more vocal. Please let us know what you are hearing especially if you hear them in a new area. We cannot always respond to reports right away but do prioritize responding to reports of frogs in new areas. Please report if you hear frogs where you haven’t heard them before. As one respondent said: “This neighborhood does not have coqui frogs YET.  If I were to hear one or more I would immediately inform my neighbors and urge ACTION!” Thanks for your enthusiasm! Don’t forget to report it to MISC too! 

Report coqui frogs using the MISC Coqui Report form.

Sixty-seven people responded to the questionnaire, 36 from the four existing neighborhood groups that have organized spray weeks and 31 from the wider Maui community. Between April 17th and May 9th, 633 pounds of citric were delivered to 17 separate locations in East Maui to people working to control coqui in their own yards. We will continue to deliver small (1.28 lb) and large (50 lb) bags for as long as our baseyard is closed to the public. Get in touch via the coqui report form to request citric if needed.

A frequent response to the questionnaire was a variation on the theme “Bring the Big Sprayers” with people requesting everything from borrowing one of our 100-gallon sprayer tanks to the crew treating the gulches again. We will have the 100-gallon sprayers available again once our baseyard is open to the public. The crew has been out Monday – Thursday doing work on outlying populations and new pockets to keep those from getting out of control. 

Some of the responses were really cool suggestions for educational campaigns. Ideas included  reaching out to landscaping companies, translating our information into the languages most often spoken by those in the local landscape industry, sharing coqui related research, alternatives to citric acid as a control method, and continuing to do outreach to other areas of Maui about the risks posed if coqui continue to spread. 

Additionally people requested help with green waste removal, training on how to properly use citric acid, and information about what sprayers are most useful for personal use. Six respondents asked for help with neighbors, varying from developing new neighborhood coqui control groups to motivating people who don’t currently control coqui on their properties.

As a result, MISC is developing new online resources, looking into options to support the disposal of green waste created by coqui habitat control work, researching additional options for our equipment loan program, developing new handouts about coqui control, and planning new training options to help get more people involved in the coqui control effort.

Thank you again to everyone who responded to the questionnaire! The questionnaire is still accepting responses here. Additionally, please feel free to reach out to the Coqui Community Engagement Coordinator, Susan Frett at skfrett@hawaii.edu or 808-269-2728 with additional feedback or questions.

 
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