2015-03-16 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes—March 16, 2015 Q Chapter 183D allows DLNR to relocate game as it stands today, so I guess PTA wouldn't be able to utilize that? Do you know whose decision that would be? A. I would hope that we could, Decision will probably be the Commander's. Q. And then the fence between PTA and Department of Hawaiian Homes Land is that just stays the way it is? Whose fence is that? Is it Hawaiian Homes' Land or is it PTA. A. I don't know whose fence that is. Q: This fee money that's being collected — if that's not going to be able to be used for habitat improvement such as watering units —what do you see that money being used for, you know, just in your own brainstorming that you've done? A: Well that's one of the questions that we do have on the survey— so we'd like to get as much feedback on that and from the mammal side —the archery folks as possible. We are bound by a lot of the regulations that exist in terms of game mammals — nothing is completely off the table we can approach any of these things throughout this process - outfitting an archery range and things like that. A lot of the things that PTA is mandated now to do with respect to game animals — I will say that, inside the fence is one thing — but outside the fence there is no agenda, goal or aim to make things outside the fence the same as they need to be inside the fence for Fish &Wildlife Service mandates — so everything that I've been told to this point— we will have game animals to hunt on PTA— how many is gonna be down to, I think, habitat conditions and the way things are occurring naturally. Q. You said Areas 1 thru 16 are state land, right, state lease, is that correct? A. I believe so, yes, most of it. Q. Aren't you prohibited from spending federal dollars on game mammal enhancement but not necessarily state dollars? That's been the issue, I mean, if we use our own money —Wildlife Revolving Fund money for a watering unit in an area —there shouldn't be anything that precludes that so, if we're giving you the money in those areas outside the fences, let's say, that would be something that we would like to talk to you about because habitat improvement is what keeps game there— if the habitat goes down or becomes degraded, they will move into Hawaiian Homes and who knows what they might do with it. So if we can keep 'ern there and you can manage them it would seem that would make more sense, in my limited experience. A: No, that is something we can certainly address. And I've already started talking with a James Weller from DOCARE on a cooperative game management program. So what I need to do is get John in there—get him introduced to DOCARE and then we can start looking at where does 6