HCR LRB 23-0290 DLNR relating to the decline of Palila

Home

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Page H.C.R. NO. WHEREAS, while efforts are made to salvage sheep meat, only about forty percent is typically recovered, leaving about sixty percent to rot or feed feral cats and mongoose, which are themselves a threat to the palila population; and WHEREAS, despite the eradication of sheep and restoration of mamane forests, only an estimated six hundred seventy-eight palila were counted in 2021; and WHEREAS, the routine cost of sheep eradication is expensive: in October 2022, $8,844.50 was spent to eradicate fifty-nine sheep; and WHEREAS, due to the court mandate, thousands of residents have lost access to an important source of subsistence hunting on Mauna Kea; and WHEREAS, the drastic reduction in sheep, combined with the recovery of vegetation on Mauna Kea, has resulted in an increase of vegetative fuel loads; and WHEREAS, wildfires on the slopes of Mauna Kea represent the most significant threat to palila and their habitat; and WHEREAS, recent fires have resulted in the destruction of approximately two hundred fifty acres of palila critical habitat; and WHEREAS, due to the threat of fire, the Board of Land and Natural Resources has proposed a fuel break expansion project on Mauna Kea, which will remove thirty-five acres of mature mamane, which is another example of costs resulting from the United States District Court's mandate; and WHEREAS, despite the best efforts over the last forty years, the population of palila continues to be critically endangered; and WHEREAS, further investigations must be conducted to determine why current efforts have not resulted in recovery of the palila, and to identify new strategies to preserve this species; now, therefore, HCR LRB 23-0290.docx IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II II 2