Molokai residents have won approval from the state to temporarily stop the shipment of plants and other materials to the island to protect it from the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle.

The Hawaii Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity on Tuesday voted unanimously to pass an interim rule prohibiting the transport of plants, soil, compost and other host material — including gravel and erosion socks — to Molokai from other parts of the state.

It’s a measure intended to protect Molokai, the last populated island in the state yet to detect the palm-­destroying pests on its shores.

Kunani and Ipo Nihipali of Niu Now Molokai, who first filed a petition for the rule in July, were pleased to learn of the decision.

Kunani Nihipali called it a historic moment, and a vital “last stand” against the

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