2019-04-15 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes – April 15, 2019 Owen about the plant. I think there were some questions that related to the forestry and the trees and I’m happy to answer those – just one more background – a piece of information – when I came in 1996 it was to convert the sugar cane lands on Hamakua and then Kau to plantation forest. So that was my job. I started a company to do that – I worked with Kamehameha Schools and then Parker Ranch to do that and it’s primarily those trees that we’re not harvesting and we’ll be replanting for the plant. TN: What exactly is your direction of the forestry land that’s being cultivated and what will happen to that land after cultivation? Is it replanting, renewable – keep it there, I mean, what are the plans and do you have the problems of ungulates in your forest area. GC: I just have to think how to answer that – the, um, plan for the plant – we have thirty year plan as far as making sure the resource is renewable. The trees on average will grow 7 years – any planted tree will grow about 7 years depending on where it is and then be harvested and replanted. So it really depends on which land we’re talking about. If it’s Kamehameha Schools or Parker or State or County – depending on where the land is it’s more the owner that’ll dictate what is – how it is managed and how it’ll be replanted but for our plant to be sustainable they will be harvesting and then they will be replanting. TN: Once again, in your being sustainable harvesting and replanting – are there problems with ungulates – our wild animals – I mean, is there a problem in your forest – do you allow hunters to do there, I mean, what are your policy, rules, regulations. GC: Again, I think the – it will depend on whose land it is. Kamehameha Schools have their own set of rules, Parker Ranch have their own set of rules. We have single use leases to grow trees. What we have done previously on Hamakua was establish – in the Paauilo area we established a hunting a club and that worked very well with – meeting with and forming a hunt club that pretty much self-regulated on the land – we – you know, they don’t do any damage to the trees so we’re happy to have hunter-gatherers in the forest – there’s no problem with that and there’s no, um, good reason not to be there – we don’t build fences – we are quite happy to work with community on those issues but the land owner – Kamehameha Schools, for example, will require some – or did in the past – and I assume that’s the same today – that they would require insurance and so the hunt club – as a club – would have to carry that insurance. TN: Private landowners, especially Kamehameha School has a waiver – so it’s something that can be dealt with, with the hunters and I’m not sure your lease with Kamehameha School is like or what the verbiage is in there to protect 17