Feral goat-hunting permits offered

LIHU’E — The state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife announced the availability of applications for special feral goat hunt in Hunting Unit A, Kekaha Game Management Area.

Permits will be limited determined by a lottery. Depending on the number of applicants, not all hunters may be drawn for the hunt. There will be no stand-by list.

Applications are available at various vendors and all hunter check station. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, Jan. 15. The lottery to assign dates will be Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Applicants will be charged $5 per person. Applicants may apply for both hunts. Applicants may apply in groups of up to eight hunters. Hunting will be limited to the Kekaha Game Management Area. There will be 75 permits available for each two-day slot for archery. There will be a bag limit of two goats (one must be a female) per permit. Dates for the hunts are as follows:

Archery only dates (two-day slots): Feb. 1 and 2, 8 and 9, 16 and 17 and 22 and 23;

Muzzleload only dates (two-day slots): March 1 and 2, 8 and 9, 15 and 16, and 22 and 23.

Mauka access into the Kekaha GMA will be through Trail 2 road only to Kahelu, Mana and Kolo ridges. Hunters must sign in and sign out at the Koke‘e hunting check-in station. For makai access, hunters must sign in and out at one of four hunter check-in stations: Pu‘u ‘Opae-Marine Road, Mana Tunnels, Kolo Junction and Pohihale Beach.

Hunters will be allowed to field dress and bone their game and attach the permits to the game bags.

For further information, call the Lihu‘e DOFAW office at 3060 ‘Eiwa Street, Room 306, Lihu‘e, at 274-3433 on regular working days from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.