Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
News Release

DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR

SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON

For Immediate News Release March 5, 2016

(click on image to watch video)

HUNTER EDUCATION INSTRUCTORS RECOGNIZED FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE
Volunteers Have Given More Than 20,000 Hours of Service 

(Honolulu) – Seventeen Hawaii hunter education instructors were honored today by DLNR Chair Suzanne Case and First Deputy Director Kekoa Kaluhiwa during a service award presentation kicking off Hawaii’s annual instructor meeting.  The volunteer instructors, responsible for training youth and adult hunters at 75 classes annually, were recognized with awards for from 50 hours of service to 4500 hours of service.  In total, the awards presented today represent more than 20,000 hours of combined, total service.

Chair Case said, “These volunteers are really at the intersection of the ability of people to really enjoy the outdoors in a safe and ethical way. Based on what I saw when I took hunter education last August, I know that these men and women give a tremendous amount of their personal time to hunter education courses, because they love it and they’re passionate about it. It’s an incredible commitment and contribution to Hawaii.”

The Hawaii Hunter Education Program falls under the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE).  DOCARE Enforcement Chief Thomas Friel told the volunteer instructors, “I want to thank you for your participation, bringing years of experience and your willingness to share.  Without you, this program wouldn’t go anywhere.  I look at outreach and education in all forms, including hunter education, as the key to compliance with Hawaii’s conservation and natural resource laws. We’d rather have compliance through education and outreach, than to have to arrest somebody and haul them to court.”

The two-day long annual instructor meeting includes a recap of the past year and reports on current projects, including the development of a hybrid online course and database upgrades.

Anyone born after December 31, 1971 or before January 1,1972 and has never possessed a State of Hawaii hunting license (issued prior to July 1, 1990) or cannot show proof of having possessed a license is required to take a Hunter Education Course in order to purchase a hunting license.  Hunter education classes fill fast.  In fact, nine classes scheduled statewide over the next two months are already full.  You can check class times, locations, and sign up at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/huntered/classes/ or call toll free 1-800-353-4868 on Hawaii, Maui and Lanai, or 1-866-563-4368 on Oahu, Kauai and Molokai.

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Media Contact:

Dan Dennison
Senior Communications Manager
Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources
Office of the Chairperson
1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 131
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 587-0407

[email protected]