None The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii Press Releases Search All Press Releases Evelyn Wight Senior Communications Manager (808)587-6277 ewight@tnc.org

Forest Recovery Project Update

Study suggests $1 million business opportunity
for animal control and land management
company in Hawai'i

HONOLULU, HAWAI'I — July 31, 2008 — A study funded by The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i suggests there is a $1 million potential business opportunity for a local company to provide animal control and land management services in the state. The market study was conducted as part of the Conservancy’s Forest Recovery Project. 

“With so much work needed to protect our natural resources and agricultural lands from the harmful impacts of invasive species, it seemed there must be a business opportunity here. So, we contracted the market study as part of our Forest Recovery Project. I’m very pleased that this report suggests there is a significant opportunity for a locally-owned and operated business,” said Suzanne Case, executive director of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i.

Tetra Tech EMI completed the survey and reported results today at the Hawai‘i Conservation Conference; the University of Hawai‘i Pacific Business Center Program also participated in the project. A demand survey included land owners and managers responsible for half the land in the state (more than 2 million acres). Survey conclusions include the following:

• More than 50 percent of the respondents noted the need for Plant Management (78 percent), Animal Management (72 percent) and Fencing (56 percent) services.
• Most respondents (75 percent) said they would be interested in hiring a local company to provide land management services.
• Respondents indicated a willingness to spend $5,252,500 per year on outside services to address top land management issues (compared with the $4,146,000 per year reported currently being spent on outside services). The resulting business opportunity is approximately $1,106,500 for an individual company.

The report includes a brief report on the current land management services industry in Hawai‘i, and discusses possible opportunities in the Pacific region. Optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for business success are provided, including start-up cost, staff, and operating estimates. The report’s authors noted several factors that could influence the success of a local business. These include:

• Sufficient capital (cash) to start the business;
• Experience and local connections; and
• Compliance with local laws and regulations.

The report concludes, however, that a company providing a suite of plant and animal management services, including fencing, has a chance to succeed in Hawai‘i.

As a component of this market study and business analysis, existing local natural resource and animal control businesses met with Conservancy and Tetra Tech staff to discuss best practices and business methods. This group, known informally as the Business Advisory Group, provided review and input to the market study and the ongoing work of the Forest Recovery Project.

The other component of the Conservancy’s Forest Recovery Project has been the short-term research and demonstration of new methods and technologies to protect Hawaii’s endangered native forests, conducted with the New Zealand firms, Prohunt and Landcare Research. That part of the work is nearly complete. Results and lessons learned will be analyzed over the next several months and will be reported on when they are available. 

Click below to download PDFs of the market study findings:

Market Study of the Contract Animal Control and Land Management Industry in Hawai'i,
July 2008 (1.88MB)

Market Study Appendices, July 2008 (1.48MB)

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.