Department of Land and Natural Resources

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 17, 2020

UPDATE: KAUA‘I TEMPORARILY ADDS HUNTING DAYS FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE

 Special Use Permits will not include Units A, B and L (including the Game Management Area). Permits will be available for existing hunting areas on Natural Area Reserves, Forest Reserves and State Parks. All Tags and/or annual permits will still be required, and no other existing hunting rules will change. This temporary increase in open hunting days will last to November 15, 2020 (in some units it will end earlier depending on any existing rules) and each permit is only good for 1 month.  More information is available at www.KauaiForestUsers.com.

(Līhue) – Kaua‘i hunters are invited to apply for Special Use Permits that allow for some additional days of the week to hunt goats, pigs and deer in all existing hunting Units EXCEPT Units A, B and L. Many hunting areas on Kaua‘i are open on weekends (Friday-Monday) only.  Beginning Monday May 18, 2020 licensed hunters may hunt more days of the week by submitting an online application at www.KauaiForestUsers.com.  Permits will be processed several times a week; not every day due to a lack of staff.

“Some hunters have asked us to increase open hunting days to help them feed our community during the COVID-19 global pandemic,” said Sheri S. Mann, Kaua‘i Branch Manager for the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). “With so many people out of work, free food drives happening and growing concerns about national meat shortages, many are interested in hunting during the middle of the week”.  However, all hunters and forest users should adhere to the latest CDC, State and County social distancing and other COVID-19 related recommendations. Opening daily hunting, in some areas, should spread hunting trips out, reduce the likelihood of hunters overlapping and increase the amount of meat for those who need it.

During this temporary change, we are asking all forest users to be considerate and careful of each other.  Please follow all existing hunter rules such as do not hunt on any trails and keep hunting dogs leashed while on trails.  There are many areas and trails that will not be impacted by this temporary increase in hunter days; all DOFAW managed lands are still open, but the Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park is closed to hikers.

DOFAW will be collecting detailed hunter harvest data to help evaluate any impacts that more hunting days may have on animal populations, native forests, rare species or other forest users.  All existing rules covering seasons, bag limits, firearms, permissible firearms by Unit and type of game mammals allowable to hunt in various units will remain the same. 

This new forest user website allows people to send questions and comments directly to the Kaua‘i DOFAW Branch via [email protected] , it has information about proposed or ongoing projects, and it includes an interactive maps that is organized by island region. It also contains information about native plants and animals, trails, forest protection and land management classifications. DOFAW and State Parks managed lands on Kaua‘i span over a third of the island and there are over 40 State managed Trails to help access many of these lands for a variety of forest uses. 

Applicants must have a current hunters license to apply for this special use permit, which will only be issued for a one-month period, with the opportunity to reapply for future months after submitting harvest data via an online form on this website. For more information or help with the online application or hunter reporting process, please call 808-274-3433.

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Media Contact:

Dan Dennison
Senior Communications Manager
(808) 587-0396
[email protected]