Final Report: Managing non-native game mammals to reduce future conflicts with native plant conservation in Hawaiʻi
Dates
Publication Date
2024-03-15
Acquisition
2023-05-22
Citation
Lucas Berio Fortini, and Steven C. Hess, 2024-03-15, Final Report: Managing non-native game mammals to reduce future conflicts with native plant conservation in Hawaiʻi: .
Summary
Across the Hawaiian Islands, effective management of at-risk species often relies on fine-scale actions by natural resource managers. However, balancing these actions with competing land use objectives concurrently can be challenging, especially in the context of a shifting climate. One example is the challenge of managing for hunting of non-native ungulates for subsistence and recreation, which often conflicts with the conservation of native species, and there is little reliable data to guide effective management. To address this issue, we modeled the habitat associations of axis deer and mouflon sheep on the Island of Lānaʻi. We found that both species occupy habitat different from their native environment, and while the two species [...]
Summary
Across the Hawaiian Islands, effective management of at-risk species often relies on fine-scale actions by natural resource managers. However, balancing these actions with competing land use objectives concurrently can be challenging, especially in the context of a shifting climate. One example is the challenge of managing for hunting of non-native ungulates for subsistence and recreation, which often conflicts with the conservation of native species, and there is little reliable data to guide effective management. To address this issue, we modeled the habitat associations of axis deer and mouflon sheep on the Island of Lānaʻi. We found that both species occupy habitat different from their native environment, and while the two species were associated with somewhat different habitats, it may be partly driven by axis deer pushing mouflon sheep to less desirable areas. Results were also used to inform a spatial prioritization effort to help resource managers identify important areas both for species recovery efforts and continued hunting opportunities. By weighing the distribution of threatened and endangered plant species against the spatial distribution of non-native game mammals, we identified areas suitable for both climate-resilient species recovery, and hunting within highly suitable game habitat. Our approach resulted in multiple scenarios that support the recovery of endangered species while retaining the majority of existing hunting areas. Our findings have the potential to resolve conflicts between at-risk species conservation and sustained-yield hunting.
Insights from the spatial prioritization effort were shared with resource managers for all of Maui Nui, which led to a new collaboration with USGS-PIERC and the State of Hawaʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources. We developed a novel spatial optimization approach for a pilot study in east Maui which yielded dramatic success. Advancements from this project led to scaled-up efforts to help managers plan for recovery of 300+ at-risk species across Maui Nui.
