2014-10-27 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes —October 27, 2014 plan for these things. In this plan at that back of the plan they have resource management guidelines and they outline areas —we can't really read it—there's a lot of wording there — but essentially areas Al and A2 are for game production and mixed game and other uses. A3 and A4 you can pretty much deem as OK you're not going to keep any animals there. [Unclear] maybe its NARS areas, it's not for sustained yield hunting. So to confirm just what we said, Al and A2 being game productions —we're looking at Puuanahulu, Puuwaawaa, and then of course on the pink side you got portions of the Waiakea Forest Reserve, I believe, there, and Manuka — all this is gone, though, so that's not really accurate because it's a NARS area. So do we really have 700,000 acres to hunt right now? Yes we do right now. But it's not going to be there in the future. And this is the status that we are in. So basically I just covered that—what's left— those 3 areas and what is some of the hurdles just so you folks are not as involved in this thing —we have federal funding and under that federal funding you have Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation — you federal funding is your Pittman-Robinson dollars — your hunter dollars. Anytime we spend money that is federal money you have to go under this consultation or this review. Basically, it says you that you cannot use federal dollars to detriment of the effect any endangered species. This is the reason your watering stations are [unclear] across all your public hunting areas are fenced — because [unclear] water sheep and goats because it may proliferate them which eat endangered plants or something like that. So that's one of the hurdles in being that we take federal money to do these things — you can't do anything with it as far as it relates to our game mammals. We also have critical habitat designations that are coming. I don't know where they are — lot of talk of it. Maybe one day we can get a map showing where they are today. And then of course there's also the questions — does the DLNR manage out state lands or does the federal government do so. I don't mean it in a contentious fashion but we take a lot of federal dollars for our state lands and with the federal dollars come a lot of federal rules, which are restricting us. So every time we come as hunters we ask DOFAW, "Eh, what are we doing?" They always say it's the federal government—well we're taking federal dollars so it's kind of this catch 22 situation — very hard for you guys — very hard as hunters to move forward with our funding. So on this path — public hunting for game mammals in Hawaii will end and you know I didn't mention but we have Puuanahulu and Puuwaawaa which are the game production areas — you would think that we could do things with our game mammals there — and again I have to point back to the Endangered Species Act Section 7 Rules —which anytime we take federal dollars we can't do anything with it— so just keep that in mind. Anytime we federalize something pretty much our animals are toast. 7