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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting <br />Minutes – April 25, 2017 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />DISCUSSION: <br /> <br />l. STEVE BERGFIELD ON THE SUCCESS OF THE CATTLE HUNTS IN <br />THE HILO FOREST RESERVE AND THE PLAN GOING FORWARD <br /> <br />Steven T. Bergfield, Branch Manager, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, <br />Hawaii made a presentation on Hilo Watershed Feral Cattle Removal <br />Project via power point. He provided an update on the cattle hunts project <br />that his department had been conducting in the Hilo watershed adjoining <br />Hawaiian homes. Mr. Bergfield reported that the lottery hunts started in <br />November of 2013 and will end June 2017, DOFAW has thus far <br />accommodated 1,086 hunters. In June, the agreement with DHHL will <br />expire. One way gates out of the watershed are expected to be <br />operational by the end of April to facilitate more cattle egress out of the <br />watershed. After June, without an agreement to use DHHL access, hunts <br />will continue as long as it is feasible to access along Saddle road. So far, <br />there have been 1,086 hunters who harvested 649 cattle from the <br />Watershed, 315 bulls, 231 cows, and 73 calves. Over the last three years, <br />a total of twenty-five animals were unrecovered, less than four percent <br />unrecoverable rate. The number has been outstanding. There were 141 <br />trips into the watershed which was facilitated by DOFAW and their trusty <br />four wheeler, which eighteen pigs and two sheep were also harvested. <br />This worked out to an average of .60 animals per hunter, a fair amount of <br />harvest. <br /> <br />Chairperson Lodge, indicated, “If you tally the approximate take home of <br />meat, it works out to an estimated 112, 992 pounds of beef. If you <br />purchased 80% lean ground beef at $5.99 a pound, there is a market <br />savings of $676,822 and change. Altogether quite a successful program. <br />Thanks to the persistence of the Hilo DOFAW, Steve Bergfield, Joey <br />Mellow and staff.” <br /> <br /> <br />II. COUNTY OF HAWAI’I SHOOTING RANGE RESOLUTION <br /> <br />TL: Chairperson Tom Lodge reported that he, Dwayne “Ike” Yoshina, and <br />Naniloa Pogline met with the County Council members and provided a <br />summary of goals and objectives from previous meetings by the Game <br />Management Advisory Commission. A resolution was drafted by <br />Chairman Lodge and submitted to the County Council. The purpose of <br /> <br /> <br />A2 <br /> <br /> <br />