GMAC Minutes 2.18.25 - Laserfiche WebLink

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We don’t ban the hens because (unclear) but that’ll offset, that set up allows them to survive hunting season. A lot of hunters in Kapapala reported and even Mauna Kea reported seeing a lot of hens and hens in Kapapala are (unclear) out birds, so, they survive the season they survive the winter and now going into the spring and survivors start breeding. Last year we observed a handful of pheasant hens within Kapapala and some within Mauna Kea at newer released birds with chicks so that’s a good sign too, that it'll be a great success story- keeping the gas on that project which I guess leads into our plans for this year. We’re still going to be maintaining the release program not bringing any birds from the mainland. We’re sticking to the birds that we have to collect eggs keep being hatched. Our bird program is to work with schools that have FFA agriculture natural resource programs, Kohala High School, Kanu O’ Ka Aina school in Waimea and Kea’au Highschool here in Kea’au. We work with them to help us raise birds. We take the kids out there as part of our release program. The main thing is that relationship already given Kohala High School chucker eggs starting to (unclear)lay earlier than expected so we’ve been getting some eggs something to collect eggs and give them to the school so they can have the smaller batches where we’re gonna stick to the bigger batches we’re waiting for the birds to start pumping more eggs (unclear) start firing up our incubators. st The 2025 spring turkey season is soon to begin March 1 we’ve been getting plenty of calls from people in the mainland. Usually calls in February late January from people who are interested in logistics of spring turkey hunting. The mainland has a real big culture of spring turkey seasonal bearded season bearded turkey seasons in the mainland big culture. There’s been an increase in it now, there’s this thing called, “Chasing 49” in 49 states. Alaska being the only state missing from the list. It’s funny because there’s a lot of the folks, these guys are trying to come to Hawaii and hunt. Piggy backing off a spring vacation with their families so we end up being a vacation planner fielding questions about our beaches and so forth. The number of phone calls have increased. The announcement for the hunt is coming out on Friday. Pretty standard announcing of the rules. Open areas, Unit A – Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and GMA, Unit C – upper Piha and upper Kilohaina Laupahoehoe Forest Reserves, which the area was added to the spring turkey season which is part of our adaptive management rules strategies. Last year was the first time it got added to the spring turkey season. This will be the second year that’ll be part of the season. Unit F – Puuwaawaa Forest Reserve, Unit G – Kaohe GMA Regarding the transfer or to recap the Kapapala Ranch lease. The land itself is being tracked. It’s part of track 99. It’s being transferred from DLNR to Department of Ag. It’s a huge process the land is being given back and then will become part of the forest reserve. There’s a lot going on with it. The main thing that has been done probably since the last time I talked about it is, we’re working… we finished some of the major survey work with surveyors that DLNR contracted to survey because they’re subdividing portions that are being kept in the ranch portion that will 7