RareHawaii

Island devastation by game mammals has been neglected for too long. Our water won't be clean, forests will continue to succumb to the march of invasive weeds, and we cannot save our hundreds of endangered species while their habitat is full of large hoofed animals. Hunters should be free to hunt, and landowners should be free of excessive liability concerns that prevent them from allowing hunter access.

Contact those responsible for game mammals

The game program is the responsibility of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the DOFAW branch managers and game managers on each island. Since statehood in 1959, there has never been a functioning plan for game control and conservation-oriented management, statewide or for any entire island. Actual management has been limited to individual management units such as the national parks, Nature Conservancy preserves, and to some extent the State's Natural Area Reserves (some of which still impose bag limits!). Residents on each island should be aware of what their branch manager's plans are to protect the island from game mammals. Ask for a report outlining what is being done islandwide and what the plan is for the future, to limit the range of game mammals to appropriate areas and protect native plants and animals from introduced game species. Contact information for each island's managers is here.

Public awareness of the environmental damage caused by introduced game animals is very low. This has resulted in disinterest on the part of the administration and members of the legislature. The result is a lack of funding and protection for native species, which have been steadily declining for decades. Contact information for elected officials is below.

The situation will continue to get worse until people are free to hunt as many invasive animals as they can get, and the statutes and rules are revised to favor animal control over ecosystem destruction. Right now it is an enormous and astronomically expensive barrier to conservation. A plan to reduce the number and range of feral animals is crucial. Let's ask for it!

These are the people who will make it happen if enough people call, fax, write, and vote!

Link to contact information for DOFAW branch managers.

Governor Neil Abercrombie, Hawaii State Capitol, Honolulu, HI 96813. Ph: 587-0660; Fax: 587-0160; Email: gov@gov.state.hi.us.

The State legislators for your district. All their contact information is available at the Hawaii State Legislature web site. The site is also filled with information about the activities of the Legislature, including a Citizen's Guide, legislative bills, timetables, and how you can make your voice heard. It's a great place to do some research and make contact with the people who represent you: you can send email to them directly from the web site.

Chairperson William Aila, State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. Ph: 587-0400; Fax: 587-0390. Email: dlnr@hawaii.gov.

Paul Conry, Administrator, State of Hawaii Department of Forestry and Wildlife, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 325, Honolulu, HI 96813. Ph: 587-0660; Fax: 587-0160; Email: paul.j.conry@hawaii.gov.




Rare Hawai‘i: It wasn’t meant to be a barnyard Millions of years of evolution in isolation. Thousands of plant and animal species found nowhere else in the world. Introduced pigs, goats, deer and sheep roaming freely over public lands. More than 265 extinctions and counting. (Note: If the format of this page looks strange, try another browser, like Firefox.)