2019 01-29 Game Management Advisory Commission Minutes

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Hawaii Game Management Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes – January 29, 2019 \[unclear\] of nubs and everything is just destroyed versus the other side of the road where you got six foot grass and everything that’s native is being choked out and like I’m saying if you drive down farther down Saddle Road – I don’t know what it is – there’s this new invasive vines – has anybody noticed those? You know, those are just covering everything. You can see the humps where the native bushes were – and that’s all it is just green humps. ?: It’s the spot where Daniel K. Inouye Highway meets Mamalahoa Highway that whole area is just inundated with those kinds of weeds. BL: It’s just sad, I mean, you drive down there and it’s just thousands and thousands of acres just taken over by invasive and we’ve got the environmentalists crying about the invasive ungulates nibbling on a few things – we’re losing 100% of – Hawaii is taken over by fountain grass and these vines that nothing can support, you know, there used to be herds of goats with some big billies – I’d see ‘em all the time – I don’t what happened to ‘em but where the goats are gone the vines are taking over, I mean, it’s, it’s sad to see that – and everyone’s complaining about invasive species but the grasses and the vines that are actually destroying the Island are allowed to propagate and nobody has any plans to do with anything about it – you know, fountain grass, these vines – everything else – it’s sad, you know, and nobody knows that these are invasive. All the grasses on the Island are invasive – they were brought in by the cattle ranches, so, all these grasses – invasive – might as well have an invasive animal eating them than their invasive thing. All right – I’ve rambled on long enough, sorry, thank you. NP: Thank you – that was great. BKK: Does anybody have any other questions? Thank you, Don. Appreciate it. DF: Thank you. BKK: Next up we have Mr. Kohatsu. b. Ryan Kohatsu – Mauna Kea Grass Fire, State GMAC RK: Good evening Commission. I was invited here by Nani to speak on a couple of topics so I don’t particularly have a presentation or a speech to give like the previous testifiers but I guess what I can do is – I know you guys talked a lot about the Mauna Kea grass fire but the State Game Management Commission – I can talk about some of the current things that are going on there and I guess maybe for – as it concerns the Big Island more – I’ve kind of personally taken a prioritization in getting a long time project done – the Puuwaawaa Habitat Conservation Plan – it was for the existence of sheep within the presence of endangered species so a big convoluted environmental assessment type of thing that’s now 18 years or so in the making and I think 9