HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
153 |
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO work with local hunters to accommodate traditional and customary native Hawaiian hunting practices and CHANGE ITS POLICIES BASED ON THE CONCERNS OF LOCAL HUNTERS.
WHEREAS, the powers and duties of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) pursuant to Chapter 183D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, include managing and administering the wildlife resources and enforcing the wildlife hunting laws of the State; and
WHEREAS, Article XII, section 7 of the Hawaii State Constitution, acknowledges the State's obligation to protect all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes and possessed by ahupua‘a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian islands prior to 1778, subject to the right of the State to regulate such rights; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature passed Act 210, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, that established the Game Management Advisory Commission (Advisory Commission) within DLNR, that recommends to the Board of Land and Natural Resources (Board):
(1) Policies and criteria regarding the management, protection, and promotion of public hunting in Hawaii; and
(2) Amendments to existing DLNR policies and procedures relating to hunting; and
WHEREAS, each member of the Advisory Commission, except the Chairperson of the Board, is required to be a licensed hunter in Hawaii and have leadership experience in working directly with local hunter or shooting organizations and at least one member must have knowledge, experience, and expertise in the area of native Hawaiian cultural practices; and
WHEREAS, the Advisory Commission, among other things:
(1) Consults with and advises the Board on any matter affecting hunting, including proposed rules and regulations;
(2) Assists in establishing criteria to be used in determining whether an area is suitable for hunting; and
(3) Assists DLNR on policies, plans, and procedures related to the control of game mammals, including aerial shooting activities by DLNR and its contractors; and
WHEREAS, DLNR is engaged in aerial shooting of goats; and
WHEREAS, DLNR restricts the areas in which hunters may track wild ungulates; and
WHEREAS, DLNR restricts the bag limit on wild goats; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that DLNR is urged to work with local hunters to accommodate traditional and customary native Hawaiian hunting practices; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DLNR is:
(1) Requested to find alternative methods of eradicating wild ungulates, other than aerial shooting;
(2) Urged to expand the areas where hunters may track and access wild ungulates; and
(3) Urged to increase the bag limit of wild goats from two to four goats per hunter; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Chairperson of the Game Management Advisory Commission, and the President of the Hunting Association of Waianae.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Department of Land and Natural Resources; Wild Goats; Hunting; Regulations