Department of Land and Natural Resources

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
News Release

DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR

SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON

For Immediate News Release September 25, 2017

 

DLNR ANNOUNCES 2018 LANA‘I AXIS DEER HUNTING SEASON
Applications available starting Oct. 2 at DOFAW offices

HONOLULU —   The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is pleased to announce that application forms for the 2018 Lana‘i Axis deer hunting season, together with instruction sheets, will be available at all DOFAW offices statewide beginning Monday October 2, 2017.  Applicants may apply online. 

A $10.00 application fee will be assessed each person applying for the hunt. This fee MUST accompany each application for the hunt at the time of filing. 

Applications received without the required application fee will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant.

A tag fee will be assessed at the time of hunter check in.  Hawai‘i residents will be assessed $20.00 and non-Hawai‘i residents $125.00  for each Axis deer tag.  It is imperative that hunter applicants obtain and pay particular attention to the hunt instruction sheet and addendum for additional changes in the application process. 

Pursuant to Title 13, Chapter 123, “Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting” (13-123-4) the following special conditions and procedures will be in effect for this hunt:

The 2018 Lanai Axis deer season will consist of four (4) hunts:

            The Archery Hunt will be held over eight (8) consecutive days, beginning February 17, 2018 and ending on February 24, 2018.

            **The Youth Hunt will be conducted for one (1) Weekend (Saturday and Sunday), March 3 and 4, 2018.

            The Muzzleloader Hunt will be conducted for one (1) Weekend (Saturday and Sunday), March 10 and 11, 2018.

            The General Rifle Hunt will be held over nine (9) consecutive Weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), beginning March 17, 2018 and ending on May 13, 2018.

Hunter assistants will only be allowed to accompany hunters who are senior citizens (age 65 or older) or disabled.  Proper documentation is required at time of hunter check in.

The bag limit for the 2018 Lanai Axis deer season will be three (3) Axis deer (two (2) does and one (1) either sex) per hunter for the archery season, three (3) Axis deer (two (2) does and one (1) either sex) per hunter for the youth hunt, and three (3) Axis deer (two (2) does and one (1) either sex) per hunter for the muzzleloader and general rifle hunts.  All hunters will be required to purchase a doe tag and have the option of purchasing an either sex tag and/or another doe tag.  Tags are NOT transferable and are valid only for the specific hunt for which it was issued.

There will be no lottery drawing for the Archery Hunt and no limit on the number of archers who will be allowed to participate.  However, interested archers must submit an application to participate in the hunt.  Hunters participating in the Archery Hunt will be allowed to apply for, and participate, in either the Muzzleloader Hunt or the General Rifle Hunt.  Archery hunters may check in on the Friday preceding the first day of the Archery Hunt between the hours of 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM or daily during the hunt between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM to validate permits and acquire their tags.  All tags will be issued at the time of hunter check in.  Archery hunters must check-out of the hunting area daily and report their take or their intent to hunt the next day providing their tags remain unfilled.

AXIS DEER HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH HUNTERS:

• Youth hunters must be 15 years of age or younger (HAR 13-123-2) up to the hunt date, possess a valid 2017-18 State of Hawai‘i hunting license and be accompanied by a non-hunting adult (18 years of age or older) who also possesses a valid 2017-18 State of Hawai‘i hunting license.  Youth hunters must submit an application to participate in this hunt.
• Youth hunters will be issued tags at the time of hunter check in.  Tags are valid only for the specific hunt applied for.
• A total of 165 youth hunters will be drawn for the weekend.  If applications exceed 165, a lottery will be conducted to establish going and standby positions.
• Youth hunters will be limited to carry one (1) type of hunting equipment while in the hunting area.  Blaze orange is required for all youths and accompanying adults.
• One (1) adult may accompany one (1) youth for this hunt.
• Youth hunters will be allowed to apply for and participate in the archery hunt and either the muzzleloader hunt or general rifle hunt.  Youths must submit a separate application for each hunt.

Participation in the Muzzleloader Hunt may be assigned by lottery if application levels exceed the allotted number of hunters allowed in the hunting area.  The General Rifle Hunt will be assigned by lottery drawing.  Interested hunters may apply for either the Muzzleloader Hunt Lottery or the General Rifle Hunt Lottery, but may NOT apply for BOTH.

Applications for all hunts may be submitted in-person or mailed, to the Maui Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office, 1955 Main St., # 301, Wailuku, HI 96793.  Lana‘i residents only are to mail or deliver their applications to the Lana‘i Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office at 917 Fraser Ave., P.O. Box 630661, Lana‘i City, HI 96763.  Hunters may and are encouraged to apply online for this hunt.  To apply online, go to https://hunthawaii.ehawaii.gov.  The DEADLINE for submitting applications will be 4:00 PM on Friday November 3, 2017.  Interested hunters are encouraged to submit applications well before the application deadline to insure proper processing. 

If necessary, a public drawing for the Youth and Muzzleloader Hunts will be held on Friday, January 5, 2018 at 11:00 AM at the J. Cameron Center, MEO Building.  Following this drawing, the public drawing for the General Rifle Hunt lottery will be held at 12:00 noon.  The Lana‘i resident public drawing will be held at 9:00am at the same above location. Hunters who have been assigned a stand-by number will be allowed to replace no-show hunters that do not check in on their assigned hunting date.

All eligible Youth, Muzzleloader and General Rifle participants must check in either on the Friday preceding their assigned hunting date between 12:00 noon and 8:00 PM or on Saturday between 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM at the Forestry and Wildlife Office in Lana‘i City to acquire their tags.  Stand-by hunters must be present at the Lana‘i City, Division of Forestry and Wildlife office at 6:00 PM on the Friday prior to their assigned hunting date to be eligible to replace no-show hunters.  Once each hunter fills their bag limit for each hunt applied, they will not be eligible to participate for the remainder of the 2018 Lana‘i Axis Deer Season.  Hunting Units 1, 2 and 3 will be open for the Archery Hunt.  Hunting Units 1 and 2 will be opened for the Youth, Muzzleloader, and General Rifle Hunts.

Additional details for this season are available at the Division of Forestry and Wildlife offices at the following telephone numbers:

O‘ahu: 587-0166                                 Maui: 984-8100
Hawai‘i: 974-4221 (Hilo)                  Moloka‘i: 553-1745
Kaua‘i: 274-3433                                Lana‘i: 565-7916

 

Media contact:

Deborah Ward
Communications Specialist
Dept. of Land and Natural Resources
(808)-587-0320
[email protected]