Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife ...

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
issued throughout the State in 2006 (HDBEDT 2007). Four large game mammals and 14 species of
game birds can be legally hunted on the island (http://www.State.hi.us/dlnr/dcre/know.htm).
5.2.6 Refuge Public Use Opportunities
Hakalau Forest Unit
In FY 2010, the total number of visitors to the Refuge was 1,692. Visitors to HFU are allowed access
to the Maulua Tract through a call-in permit system. The Maulua Tract is approximately 2 hours
from Hilo and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle. Visitors have access to a single track road that
extends downslope from the gate for 2 mi with limited opportunities to turn vehicles around. Maulua
Tract is accessible by reservation only on weekends and State holidays through an otherwise locked
entrance called Maulua Gate. The area is available for wildlife-dependent activities such as birdwatching,
nature photography, environmental education, and hiking. Reservations are made by
calling the Hakalau Forest NWR office between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at least 1 week before the
scheduled visit. Periodic closures do occur on the basis of fire danger from extreme dry conditions on
the Refuge and surrounding lands. The Friends of Hakalau Forest are developing interpretive signs to
complement certain site areas in Maulua Tract. Most visitors registering for permission to enter
Maulua Tract are from the mainland U.S. Visitation over the years has gradually increased from a
weekend average of four to currently an average of 10 people. No sanitation facilities are provided.
The remainder of the Refuge is not open to the public except through organized Refuge sponsored or
permitted activities. The volunteer program provides wildlife photography and observation and
environmental interpretation and education opportunities through a unique hands-on stewardship
program. The volunteer program offers overnight experiences involving a full day of hands-on
stewardship activity assisting with a combination of some of the following activities: koa
outplanting, seed collection, plant nursery work, reseeding, and facility support maintenance. After
spending the night in a Refuge cabin, the staff on the second day host groups on a forest bird
interpretive walk, which requires someone skilled in how to locate, interpret, and observe the birds,
and highlighting native forest ecosystem management and wildlife observation.
During 2007, 30 of the 52 possible weekends were scheduled and there is a 1-2 year waiting list for
additional groups to participate. Currently these weekends are attended by groups such as the Sierra
Club, Audubon Society, Boy and Girl Scouts, high school hiking clubs, teacher workshops, middle
and high school-age participants in Youth Conservation Corps, and the Imi Pono no ka ‘Aina
partnership environmental education program. The program has reached capacity, as the staff cannot
fulfill the needed tasks for additional groups (e.g., scheduling, maintaining the overnight cabin,
providing transportation, and other administrative and safety related responsibilities and logistics).
The Refuge is opened to the general public annually for the Refuge Week Open House, providing a
1-day opportunity for visitor programs tailored to the general public. The annual event, offered
during National Wildlife Refuge Week in early October, has been growing in popularity over the
years from 50 participants at the first open house day in 1992 to over 500 in 2007. The Open House
is primarily attended by Hawai‘i Island residents. Reservations are required. Publicity is generally
accomplished via articles in the Hawai‘i Tribune Herald, West Hawai‘i Today, the Big Island
Weekly, and local radio stations.
5-14 Chapter 5. Social and Economic Environment