STATE OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

2015 LANAI AXIS DEER HUNTING SEASON

HUNT ANNOUNCEMENT

The State of Hawaii, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is pleased to announce that application forms for the 2015 Lanai Axis deer hunting season, together with instruction sheets, are available at all DOFAW Offices Statewide beginning Monday October 20, 2014.   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. Due to a December 31, 2007 appellate court ruling, application fees for the 2015 Lanai Axis deer season have been waived. Pending approval of Chapter 123,

Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting, tag fees may be implemented for this hunt.

 Pursuant to Title 13, Chapter 123, “Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting” (13-123-2) the following special conditions and procedures will be in effect for this hunt: 

The 2015 Lanai Axis deer season will consist of three (3) hunts:

• The Archery Only Hunt will be held over eight (8) consecutive days, beginning February 21, 2015 and ending on February 28, 2015.
•  The Muzzleloading Hunt will be conducted for two (2) consecutive Weekends (Saturday and Sunday), March 7, 8 and March 14, 15, 2015.\
• The General Rifle Hunt will be held over nine (9) consecutive Weekends (Saturday and Sunday), beginning March 21, 2015 and ending on May 17, 2015.

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 2015 Lanai Axis deer season will be two (2) Axis deer (one (1) doe and one (1) either sex) per hunter for the archery season and two (2) Axis deer (one (1) doe and one (1) either sex) per hunter for the muzzleloader and general rifle hunts. Tags are NOT transferable and are valid only for the hunt for which it was issued.

There will be no lottery drawing of permits for the Archery Only Hunt and no limit on the number of archers who will be allowed to participate. However, interested archers must apply for this hunt by submitting an application for a permit. Hunters participating in the Archery Only Hunt will be allowed to apply for, and participate, in either the Muzzleloader Hunt or the General Rifle Hunt lotteries. Archery hunters may check in on the Friday preceding the first day of the Archery Only 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.

Participation in the Muzzleloading Hunt and General Rifle Hunt will be assigned by lottery drawing. Interested hunters may apply for either the Muzzleloading 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, 54 S. High St., Rm 101, Wailuku, HI 96793. Lanai residents only are to mail or deliver their applications to the Lanai Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office at 917 Fraser Ave., P.O. Box 630661, Lanai City, HI 96763. The DEADLINE for submitting applications will be 4:00 PM on Friday November 21, 2014. Interested hunters are encouraged to submit applications well before the application deadline to insure proper processing.

The public drawing to assign hunting dates and stand-by numbers for the Muzzleloading Hunt lottery will be held on Friday January 9, 2015 at 11:00 AM at the J. Cameron Center, MEO Building. A simultaneous drawing will be held at the Lanai Division of Forestry and Wildlife Office for Lanai residents. Following these drawing at both locations, the public drawing for the General Rifle Hunt lottery will be held at 12:00 noon. 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 Muzzloader and General Rifle participants must check in either on the Friday preceding their assigned hunting date between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM or on Saturday or Sunday between 7:00 AM and 11:00 AM at the Forestry and Wildlife Office in Lanai City to acquire their tags. Stand-by hunters must be present at the Lanai 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, they will not be eligible to participate for the remainder of the 2015 Lanai Axis Deer Season. Both Hunting Units 1 and 2 will be open to Archery, Muzzleloading, and General Rifle Hunts.

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

            Oahu: 587-0166                                               Maui: 984-8100

            Hawaii: 974-4221 (Hilo)                      Molokai: 553-1745

            Kauai: 274-3433                                  Lanai: 565-7916