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

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan
A maximum of 12 SUPs allowing 100 individual person visits will be issued during a calendar year
to commercial tour operators and conservation and education groups to permit entry to the upper Pua
‘Ākala and Hakalau Forest Unit tracts to observe common and endangered native forest birds, plants,
and rainforest habitats. A maximum of six visits may occur under any one permit. The maximum
group size will be 25 individuals. Specific conditions would be developed by the Refuge to minimize
or avoid impacts to Refuge resources and are listed in “Stipulations Necessary to Ensure
Compatibility” in this document.
The permittee is required to provide a list of the number of visits and individuals when requesting
permission to access the Refuge. The permittee will submit a monthly written report with the total
number of visits and individuals.
Visitors associated with volunteer activities, the annual Open House, Refuge inspections, and other
official visits will continue to enter the Refuge without requiring issuance of a SUP. The Refuge
Manager will limit these visits to minimize the risk of adverse impacts on wildlife and habitat.
The proposed action will provide limited access to portions of the Refuge (Pua ‘Ākala and HFU
tracts) which are not open to the general public and have relatively high populations of endangered
birds, specifically ‘akiapōlā‘au, Hawai‘i ‘ākepa, and Hawai‘i creeper. These endangered birds are
seldom seen within the Upper Maulua Tract, which is open to the public every weekend.
The Kona Forest Unit has never been opened to the public.
Availability of Resources:
At present, Hakalau Forest NWR can only accommodate 12 tour group permits per year. If the
number of applicants begins to increase, additional staffing would be required. The Refuge requires
the permittee to offset any cost incurred by the Refuge by payment of a one-time permit fee of
$150.00.
Category and Itemization One-time ($) Annual ($/yr)
Administration and Management $150/permit issued $9,200
The above annual cost reflects the cost to manage the program and prevent impacts to natural
resources. Estimated costs were calculated using 3 percent of the base cost of a GS-12 Deputy
Refuge Manager, 2 percent of the GS-13 Refuge Manager, 2 percent of the GS-12 Wildlife Biologist,
3 percent of the GS-9 Administrative, and 1 percent of the Maintenance Supervisor’s staff time,
based on the assumption that this activity would use that portion of their year to administer and
coordinate commercial tour, conservation, and education group tours.
The one-time administration and monitoring cost reflects the approximate cost per tour group
operation incurred by the Refuge and the offsetting cost reflects the reimbursement provided by the
permittee. The user fees are designed to be equal to the Refuge-incurred cost (costs to administer the
use, including any costs associated with facilities, equipment, supplies) and would come to the
Refuge in the form of monies paid by the commercial photographers.
B-44 Appendix B: Appropriate Uses and Compatibility Determinations