HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	117
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Requesting the department of land and natural resources to investigate the causes of and update key information on, including facts and statistics, the decline of the critically endangered palila (loxioidies bailleui) Bird on Mauna Kea.

WHEREAS, the Mauna Kea conservation district is home to a number of rare, threatened, or endangered plants, animals, and anthropods that are native and unique to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, among these species is the critically endangered finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper, or palila (Loxioides bailleui); and

WHEREAS, over ninety-six percent of the world's palila population lives within the palila critical habitat, which is located on the southwestern slope of Mauna Kea at elevations between six thousand and ten thousand feet; and

WHEREAS, for decades, the presence of sheep and goat populations threatened the health of the Mauna Kea Mamane-Naio Forest, which contributed to the decline of palila in the surrounding area; and

WHEREAS, despite the eradication of sheep and goats in the palila's habitat, and a full recovery of the Mauna Kea Mamane-Naio Forest, there are only one thousand mature adult palila left on Mauna Kea; and

WHEREAS, in 2021, Hawaii island suffered historic wildfires that encompassed over forty thousand acres, further endangering the palila and its habitat, the Mauna Kea Mamane-Naio Forest; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to investigate the causes of palila decline and to update and make public key information, including facts and statistics, related to palila decline on Mauna Kea; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the investigation is requested to include the examination of the results of the federal court mandate to eradicate sheep on Mauna Kea and protect palila populations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Palila; Mauna Kea; Endangered Species; Investigation; Department of Land and Natural Resources;