Highway 190 south bisects the PUU waawaa forest reserve and creates the upper (mauka) and lower (makai) boundary fence lines running parallel along its side

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded $188,000 to the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) on October 1, 2025, for a two-year project extending through September 30, 2027. The primary deliverable is the removal and retrofit of approximately 8 miles of deteriorated barbed-wire fencing to 4-foot high hog wire fencing along Highway 190 South in the Puu Waawaa Forest Reserve, with 5 miles on the makai (seaward) roadside and 3 miles on the mauka (inland) roadside, including replacement of degraded T-posts as needed.

This West Hawaii Wildlife Program project addresses critical wildlife management objectives by eliminating barbed-wire entanglement risks to native Hawaiian bat species, closing gaps in perimeter fencing that currently allow game species and feral cattle ingress and egress, and improving recreational hunting opportunities while reducing feral ungulate-related traffic collisions. The improved fencing infrastructure will support better habitat management, fuel break maintenance, and public hunter access within the forest reserve management area.

Both sections of fence require replacement due to worn-down materials. Dofaw plans to remove and or retrofit eight (8) miles of existing barbed-wire fencing and convert IT to 4-foot high HOG wire fencing along both sides of highway 190 south, in the same footprint (see figure 1). The upgrades include five (5) miles of fencing on the makai roadside (blue) and three (3) miles of fencing on the mauka roadside (green), and replacing t-posts that are degraded, as needed. The division of forestry and wildlife (dofaw) is requesting $141,000.00 from the fiscal year 2026 pittman-robertson apportionment to support the west hawaii wildlife program for a two-year project. The removal and or retrofit of old fence materials is needed to address the following related issues:1. Eliminating risk of barbed-wire entanglement and injury to native BAT species.2. Eliminating gaps in fencing, which create pockets that game species and grazing cattle could use as ingress egress zones, resulting in the following problems:a. Poor hunting opportunities for recreational users public huntersb. Traffic collisions caused by feral ungulate species straying onto roadsc. Unmaintained habitat within management areas, resulting in unmaintained fuel breaks and poor hunting access.