The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is reaching out to private landowners and lessees in a competitive request for proposals for the 2024 Axis Deer Control Landowner Incentive Program.

What You Need To Know

  • Multiple awards will be made for 12-month contracts to run from approximately Feb. 1, 2024 to Feb. 1, 2025, with the possibility of a one-year extension

  • The program provides an incentive for landowners to take measures to address the proliferation of axis deer on Maui, Molokai and Lanai

  • As DLNR notes, the rapid expansion of axis deer over the past few decades has affected natural resources, public safety and economic interests

  • Under the program, participants would be reimbursed $25 to $50 per deer throughout the life of the contract

Multiple awards will be made for 12-month contracts to run from approximately Feb. 1, 2024 to Feb. 1, 2025, with the possibility of a one-year extension.

The program incentivizes landowners to take measures to address the proliferation of axis deer on Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

DLNR notes that the rapid expansion of axis deer over the past few decades has affected natural resources, public safety and economic interests.

“The rapid population increases have posed significant challenges to landowners and land managers seeking to employ control measures to subdue the population and mitigate impacts,” the department stated in a release issued on Friday.

DLNR said recent deer hunting increases have made an impact, one that the landowner incentive program is designed to further.

Under the program, participants would be reimbursed $25 to $50 per deer throughout the contract. 

All axis deer “harvest” actions must abide by all applicable laws, including Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 123, Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting.

The deadline to submit proposals is Jan. 17, 2024 at 4 p.m.

Proposals will be selected on a competitive basis from available funds, according to DLNR. Ranking criteria will include the number of axis deer to be harvested and impacts on overall population control goals.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.