2022_03_15 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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th TN: All right. Sorry. Teresa – Kona, West Hawaii. I had a meeting on Monday on the 7 with Peter Simmons regarding the strawberry guava issue and we had a very short meeting down at Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor and we discussed the possibilities or reaching the same goal and we wanted the outcome to be a common goal for everyone where we would work out a long term positive solution of creating partnerships with private, public and charter schools to have a collaboration with their educational curriculum and guidance form DLNR Forestry Division to oversee some sort of plan to tackle the strawberry guava issue and this is long term – maybe taking on a certain area inch by inch systematically planned for every removal of strawberry guava that something else be planted in its’ place and in the past there was a project done by the League of Women Voters doing Arbor Day on the calendar year in August where the League of Women Voters approached the principals of various schools of Hookena Elementary, Holualoa Elementary, Konawaena and Kealakehe Intermediate – participated in the growth of 1,000 wili seeds and it was part of their science curriculum and at the end of the school year 990 seedlings were grown and the Department of Forestry Division picked them up and replanted them through partnership, again, with Kulani inmates on furloughs and on Mile 19 they replanted the 990 wiliwili seedlings so it’s been proven in the past that this is possible but it’s a long term goal and this is what we discussed and Peter if you want to add to this if you’re here at the meeting I’d be more than happy to have your input also. Thanks, Peter. PS: Thank you. I really enjoyed our meeting, but also having discussed things with Nani and Abraham over a period of time regarding the strawberry guava it’s made me much more aware of the opportunity and also kind of the – I’m disappointed in some ways – but the opportunity of being collaborative and making something really positive out of what is a negative situation in my opinion and what I mean is that I’m aware – more aware than I was before for sure – of the personal loss of individual people over something that they like – whether they cherish it or not – but just liking it – and the takings aspect of it without – for the public good – I’m just assuming it’s for the public good but people still suffer even if you giving it for the public good – and what can be done to make that pono – what can be done to make that right – probably not enough but it starts with recognizing, I think, that people that are – through no fault of their own have strawberry guava on their property and they might like it and is being affected, is going to be affected and so what can be done. I don’t have a solution – but it’s a community issue – we’re all in this thing together – it’s already being released. I think it’s a good thing, myself, it’s been through the process – but that doesn’t mean it’s right – that doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to be affected disproportionately and so education, yeah, but also, we need to come up with ideas. I think as a public to say – this will make it better – I know in the past there’s been some replacement plans that were given – maybe Ohia that’s disease resistant eventually or fruit trees but it doesn’t have to – hopefully we can come to a way of grappling with this and then the collective opportunity especially looking at State land that’s zoned for recreation and commercial forestry – it’s just a tremendous opportunity for creativity and public participation. How that’s gonna roll out, I mean, gosh, you know, I don’t know but I do know that those lands are there – the conservation resource lands above the sugar lands and they’re being destroyed by the strawberry guava and they represent a tremendous opportunity for our community and one that shouldn’t be lost and education is absolutely key and it starts with the people who are actually know the land and I look at that group of people being, yeah, it’s DLNR, you know, but it’s also the hunters, it’s the cattlemen, it’s local people that know those lands and we will not be successful – I don’t care – if we don’t find out a way to get in this thing together. It’s a tremendous opportunity, really there is – honestly I kid you not. I’m 73 – I had a great career – but I got to see things above my pay grade and this is one that I see that is just an awesome 3