HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021_02_23 - Ltr re Mauna Kea Federal Eradication Mandater
HAWAII COUNTY GAME MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COMMISSION
Feburary 23, 2020
Dear Honorable Governor David Ige,
Re: Hawaii County Game Management Advisory Commission, advise to
the Governor and Hawaii State Department of Land and Resources
regarding the Mauna Kea Federal eradication mandate.
We ask the DLNR be assigned to re-evaluate the wild game eradication
agenda on Mauna Kea, and update information to the Federal court
mandate, for a variety of important reasons.
Routine aerial eradication of sheep and goat on Mauna Kea continues,
in a time of covid 19 related loss of government revenue. The
eradication efforts are at a high government cost, yielding minimal
kill. There are nearly no sheep or goat left on Mauna Kea to eradicate,
and palila continued to decline.
Game have been eradicated to protect endangered native palila and
mamane, sighting wild game the cause of popuation decline. The
federal mandate has proven unsuccessful. After 40 years of
eradication, the palila have continued to dwindle to a population less
than one thousand, and a serious secondary threat has developed.
Since Mauna kea no longer has grazing and browsing animals to
control invasive grasses and weeds, the over growth of such has
mounted up to a source of fire fuel, setting stage for wildfire. The
now diseased and dieing native naio add to the fire fuel load.
j , otential wild fire poses a threat to palila and habitat. Browsers and
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grazers have proven to provide an effective and cost efficient method
of fire fuel control when properly managed as a renewable resource.
If hunters are part of management, they would provide an important
local food resource to our communities, as have in history.
"During the depression years of the early 1930's, the hunting program
in the forest reserves was opened to public hunting to satisfy the
demand for meat. On the average, 30,000 animals were killed annually
during that period (DLNR Draft GMA, pg. 12, 2017)." We now are seeing
a fluctuation of food imports, soaring food costs, and joblessness due to
covid 19. Although DLNR efforts are being made to salvage meat for
public use from the aerial eradications, a percentage of meat is left to
rot where difficult to salvage, only to feed wild cats, mongoose, and
rats. Here on Hawaii Island, hunting has historically and culturally
been a practice to provide meat for families and communities. Hunter
and game could again, provide for residences in a time of need.
Mahalo for your attention to these concerns,