DLNR News Release – Private Landowners on Maui Nui Sought to Assist Axis Deer Control, May 5, 2025

 

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

KA ‘OIHANA KUMUWAIWAI ‘ĀINA

 

     JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

 

DAWN N.S. CHANG
CHAIRPERSON

 

 

PRIVATE LANDOWNERS ON MAUI NUI SOUGHT TO ASSIST AXIS DEER CONTROL

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 5, 2025

  

KAHULUI, MAUI – Axis deer continue to negatively impact Maui Nui forested watersheds, agricultural land and population centers. To combat these problems, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is inviting eligible private landowners and lessees to apply to the Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) to achieve appropriate, sustainable population levels.

This program aims to incentivize landowners on Maui, Molokaʻi, and Lānaʻi to increase the number of axis deer removed from their properties and enhance protection efforts for the state’s threatened natural and agricultural resources. Applicants awarded a contract will be eligible to receive up to $50 for each qualifying deer tail presented. Awards are based on the availability of funds.

All axis deer harvest/control must abide by all applicable laws, including Hawai‘i Administrative Rules Chapter 123, Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting.

The deadline to submit proposals is May 19, 2025 at 4 p.m. Once approved, the LIP for each participant is 12 months. Compensation for deer in any given fiscal year is limited to the annual legislative appropriation for the program, and no further compensation will be paid once the funding allocation is exhausted.

Watershed partnerships spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually building fences to keep feral ungulates from trampling native plants. Left unchecked, axis deer will steadily decrease overall forest health. Recent harvest rates suggest a promising trend toward minimizing environmental and economic damage to property and land and reducing the overall deer population.

 

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RESOURCES 

(All images/video courtesy: DLNR) 

 

For more information and to apply: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/files/2025/04/DOFAW-AXIS-DEER-5_Fillable-1.pdf

 

Video – Molokaʻi Axis Deer Aerials (December 2021): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/kjumendb8em88g1xcmpav/Molokai-Axis-Deer-Aerials-James-Espaniola-SOTs-Dec.-2021-Original-12-11-21.mp4?rlkey=i7r66p24glxcub5w27u8j944l&st=mnc6opn8&dl=0

 

 

Photographs – Axis Deer: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ql3pl15r9gwwzkonrdd39/AGQ_aF2Z432KWRWkBwYVxtE?rlkey=0ib9xdwz1h1twdbsbb3prk724&st=qu8zk7bl&dl=0

 

 

Media Contact: 

Patti Jette

Communications Specialist

Hawai‘i Dept. of Land and Natural Resources

808-587-0396 

Email: [email protected]