State extends Lana'i hunting

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui Bureau

The state has signed an agreement with Castle & Cooke Inc. to ensure that the popular deer and sheep hunting programs on Lana'i will continue for another 10 years.

The pact, approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, also adds another 795 acres for eventual game-bird hunting and archery mammal hunting.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources leases the northern half of the island and conducts a lottery for axis deer and Mouflon sheep hunting there.

Paul Conry of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife said the hunts are the most popular in the state, with between 2,500 and 4,000 people applying for the lottery each year. Between 1,400 and 1,800 annually join in these hunts, harvesting about 700 deer and 600 sheep a year.

In addition to renewing the Lana'i agreement for 10 years, the state has agreed to comply with requirements for federal critical habitat designations, which is triggers by the department's use of federal money for management activities on the island.

The agreement also increases the annual fee paid to Castle & Cooke from $30,000 to $35,000, an amount DLNR expects to cover with revenue from the sale of hunting tags and application fees.

State officials described the agreement as a "win-win arrangement" for the state, Castle & Cooke and the hunting community.