{"id":17040,"date":"2026-03-03T14:47:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T00:47:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=17040"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T22:26:38","slug":"new-noteworthy-deer-bounty-alaka%ca%bbi-palamanui-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/?p=17040","title":{"rendered":"New & Noteworthy: Deer Bounty; Alaka\u02bbi, P\u0101lamanui Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alaka\u02bbi Wilderness Expansion: <\/strong>The Division of Forestry and Wildlife, part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, is seeking public comment on a plan to increase by 2,400 acres the protected area of the Alaka\u02bbi Wilderness Preserve on Kaua\u02bbi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The preserve is the headwaters of three streams \u2013 Mohihi, Waikoali, and Kawaikoi \u2013 and the area proposed for protection is a healthy forest that is home to rare native birds, plants, and invertebrates. The project would protect the area from ungulates by fencing it off while still allowing public access by means of gates and stepovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A QR code linking to the public survey appears on the Story Map for the Alaka\u02bbi Wilderness story map. See https:\/\/dlnr.hawaii.gov\/dofaw\/comment\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hike of the Alaka\u02bbi Swamp Boardwalk is scheduled for March 14. To sign up, use the separate QR code that appears on the Alaka\u02bbi Wilderness Story Map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

P\u0101lamanui Protection: <\/strong>DOFAW is also receiving public comment until March 15 on the plan to protect the P\u0101lamanui Dryland Forest, on 800 state-owned acres of the arid west side of Hawai\u02bbi island that are make up \u201cone of Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s most critically endangered ecosystems,\u201d DOFAW states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis unique landscape faces urgent threats, including wildfires, invasive species, harmful insects, and non-native ungulates such as sheep and goats,\u201d according to DOFAW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is a partnership between DLNR\/DOFAW and the Hawai\u02bbi Community College \u2013 P\u0101lamanui to co-manage and restore the land, strengthen conservation, and expand educational opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To comment, see the link above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Credit: DLNR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Bounty on Deer:  <\/strong>To help control the axis deer populations on Maui Nui, DOFAW has instituted a Landowner Incentive Program that pays participating landowners $50 for each axis deer tail they submit, subject to funding.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Axis deer. Credit: DLNR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Private landowners and lessees were to apply to the program by February 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis program aims to motivate landowners on Maui, Moloka\u02bbi, and L\u0101na\u02bbi to remove more axis deer from their properties and improve protection efforts for the state\u2019s threatened natural and agricultural resources,\u201d DOFAW stated in a news release announcing the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants still have to abide by game hunting laws. And the contracts with participants last just one year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Patricia Tummons
<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alakaʻi Wilderness Expansion: The Division of Forestry and Wildlife, part of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, is seeking public comment on a plan to increase by 2,400 acres the protected area of the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve on Kauaʻi. … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[340,15,25,548,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forestry","category-forests","category-invasives","category-march-2026","category-new-noteworthy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17043,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17040\/revisions\/17043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}