Hawaii DLNR Reopens Three Maui Game Bird Hunting Areas on Nov. 7

Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said in an Oct. 28 release from Wailuku that three Maui areas will reopen to game bird hunting on Nov. 7.

The three areas are the Kula Forest Reserve, the Kaonoulu Ranch Cooperative Game Management Area and the Papa’anui Tract of the Kahikinui Forest Reserve. They sit next to one another on the leeward slopes of Haleakalā. The Maui Nui Branch of the department’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife, known as DOFAW, will let in hunters only. Access runs Saturdays, Sundays and state holidays.

Every hunter needs a booking. The permit line, 808-359-0604, takes calls on Mondays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and callers pick a hunting day for the coming weekend. When a Monday is a state holiday, the line takes bookings on the next workday instead.

Staff start taking reservations on Monday, November 2, 2026, and keep taking them through the designated season. Game bird seasons and species are listed on the DOFAW hunting page at dlnr.hawaii.gov/recreation/hunting. The release gave no fee, tag count or daily limit.

The department said it is still weighing public safety, restoration and natural resource management priorities as it considers hiking and game mammal hunting access in these and other forest reserves. Neither use is part of this reopening.

Questions go to the Maui Nui Branch at 808-984-8100. The first booking calls come Monday, November 2.