2015-06-22 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes—June 22, 2015 really no other state operates on admin rules like that where we have to change rules every seven year— it's this minimum, long, lengthy process when Wildlife Management all these things are changing annually. I mean they're changing dynamically and we can't adjust to that. I mean we're stuck. No one works that way. I mean if another biologist came from another state and looked at our hunting system they would be mind blown —they'd probably go back home —just forget about working here. So, um, moving on I wanted — after all that— I didn't mean to bash on what we have but I just want to say we're all in this together and I think it's great we see a lot of faces because we can maybe do something that has synergies and where we all —where our strengths and the same goals align — and I took this picture out at Puuwaawaa —this is a volunteer program where you can see a lot of young — a lot of our younger hunters in there and it was from your Pittman-Robertson funds to fix the road for all users, not just hunters, not just hikers, but everyone and this is, you know, our federal matched dollars, maybe even perhaps from our hunting license funds — I don't know— could have been general funds— but all I want to say is we're here —we can fix it. It isn't all about the endangered species, hunting, fishing, or anything like that. It is about the people. And in this picture I think you see a lot of your hunters wanting to make a difference and if we're going to keep any hunting or fishing with us — it is people that will make the difference. It's them caring. You can't just sit there on TV and say oh we should do this stuff but no one's really there. So engaging the people that actually care, I think, I don't know, I just think that it would be a good thing. And this is, I believe this is my last slide of the presentation — but some solutions and I guess a personal note — like said I did this out of the idea that I wasn't a commissioner yet— so it's kind of just speaking for myself and I don't want to speak for anyone else. Everyone —you ask someone about game management or what we should do—you're gonna get a hundred different answers, so, I'm just talking for myself and I hope I can continue to work on this — but there's some solutions. I think an area by area —examine our plans to keep game animals wherever possible—you know those areas we had left. HCP was one of those plans, you know, it allows for that incidental pig license. know I'm speaking maybe Greek to some people but a lot of us —we study this, you know, we read the plans, we try to get involved with maybe, you know, maybe things get stuck. I don't know. Second thing being some commitment by leadership to finding a solution if there is a problem — so that second side where we said is, or third side where we said, "Is there even a problem with that map and the areas left?" I think we have to admit — is there or not? But we're not going to go anywhere if we don't think that there's —that there's not a problem. And on our side, it's not just all the department or our hard working DOFAW guys or anyone else— it's part of our responsibility as sportsmen as well. We need to support out local department to get these things done. So while we may have all differing ideas of how we should do something —the main objective —the main 7