Continued Rapid Ohia Death Response Act of 2025

The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to partner and collaborate with the Secretary of Agriculture and the State of Hawaii to address Rapid Ohia Death, a disease caused by a fungal pathogen that kills the native Metrosideros polymorpha tree. It would direct the U.S. Geological Survey and the Forest Service's Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry to continue researching how the disease spreads, direct the Fish and Wildlife Service to keep managing ungulates (such as deer) in control areas on federal, state, and private land with landowner consent, and direct the Forest Service to keep providing financial assistance to prevent spread and restore native forests, plus staff and infrastructure funding for research. The bill largely codifies and continues existing interagency efforts rather than creating new authorities, funding programs, or regulatory requirements; it does not set a specific dollar amount or deadline for any of these activities.

Hawaii's native forests and the communities and ecosystems that depend on them, federal agencies including Interior, Agriculture, and their sub-agencies, the State of Hawaii government, private landowners who may consent to ungulate management on their land, and researchers at the Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry.

If enacted, the bill would formalize continued federal-state collaboration and funding support to slow the spread of a disease that has killed large numbers of native Hawaiian trees, potentially stabilizing research, ungulate control, and restoration efforts that might otherwise depend on discretionary agency priorities.

The bill directs specific agency components—the U.S. Geological Survey, Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, and Fish and Wildlife Service—to continue existing collaborative and research activities rather than creating new mechanisms. Interior and Agriculture would coordinate directly with Hawaii's state government and local stakeholders, and ungulate management on private land would require landowner consent. No new reporting requirements, rulemaking, or specific appropriations are specified in the text.