Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program FY17_FY21

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Hawaii Game Management Program Introduction Hawaii's game management program provides opportunities for recreational hunting of 15 spp. of game birds and six spp. of game mammals. However, game species currently hunted in Hawaii are not native, and game mammal species in particular may have negative impacts on sensitive native species and ecosystems. Federal law precludes the use of federal funds in a manner that jeopardizes the continued existence of listed, proposed, or candidate threatened and endangered species. Because a large percentage of Hawaii's game program is funded by the Federal Wildlife Restoration Program (Pittman Robertson or PR Program), game management decisions made for this program greatly influence management policy for public hunting areas in general. Maintaining a recreational public hunting program that does not threaten the persistence of native species and ecosystems in Hawaii is a complex endeavor. Public hunting can provide a useful tool in controlling game mammals on public and private lands where control is needed and funds are scarce. The Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) public hunting program supports and facilitates hunting on public and private lands by providing a structured program that promotes and encourages participation. The program aims to direct hunting toward less ecologically sensitive areas, while at the same providing structured hunter access to more remote/pristine sites where recreational hunting can help to control game mammal populations. Hawaii's Five Year PR Game Management Program consists of eight separate Subgrants (W-22-GC through W-30-NP) and 34 different projects or segments. This program will fund projects for monitoring hunter activities and game species population status, land leases to provide additional areas for public hunting, game habitat improvement, game population management in suitable habitats through control of alien predators, facility and infrastructure development, and projects that will aid in data gathering and analysis. These and other activities are all aimed at maximizing hunter recreational opportunities and staff efficiency, within budgetary constraints, in conjunction with other DOFAW mandates, and in compliance with relevant state and federal laws and regulations. Project statements and a "Schedule of Funded Projects" which provide specifics on planned management activities and expenditures are provided in the following sections. The State of Hawaii believes that after reviewing the impacts of activities funded in this grant package, findings of "No Effect" or "Not Likely To Adversely Affect Listed Species" are warranted for the Section 7 evaluation on the use of federal funds for this program. A brief overview of the program and additional supporting information is provided below. Program Overview With an ever increasing human population, there has been a concomitant increase in demand for both consumptive (hunting) and non -consumptive (wildlife study and observation) wildlife resources. There are approximately 916,000 acres of public hunting areas in Hawaii. Appendix I contains a list of public hunting areas throughout the State and maps of their locations. Hunter checking station data collected throughout the State during FYI indicated that public hunting areas provided nearly 9,600 hunter trips for game birds and 23,763 trips for game mammals, totaling 3 3,3 82 trips (or hunter days). Hunter trips for game birds were up nearly 12% from those reported in the FY14, and trips for game mammals were close to equal to FY14 report data. Game harvest reports from public hunting area check stations in FYI indicated approximately 13,300 game birds taken (up 73% from FYI 4) and nearly 4,883 game mammals taken FY14 reports). 4