Why It Matters: The National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) unites state legislators from across the nation under the NASC umbrella. While many of the focal topics are similar, each state is unique in some ways, making the diverse tools provided by the NASC network an important bridge for policy makers. Hawaii has an exceptionally unique set of sportsmen’s and natural resource policy considerations ranging from cesspools to flood management to non-native ungulate species management, and more. Recognizing this, the 2025 Caucus informational event represented an important step in continuing conversations between legislators, the sporting community, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).
Highlights:
- Last week, the Hawaii Legislative Outdoor Heritage Caucus (Caucus) hosted an educational reception to connect Caucus members with the sporting-conservation community.
- Caucus co-chairs and representatives from the Department of Land and Natural Resources played key roles in organizing topics of focus for this event.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) will continue facilitating Caucus meetings and events, serving as the bridge between policy makers and the sportsmen’s community.
In December of 2022, Hawaii State Legislators officially joined the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses through the formation of the Hawaii Legislative Outdoor Heritage Caucus. The Caucus has a mission to protect and advance the rights of Hawaii’s residents to hunt, fish, and pursue other traditional outdoor activities. The addition of Hawaii to the NASC network brought new questions and ideas into the conversations around sportsmen’s policy.
One tough question revolves around managing a non-native ungulate species and protecting native habitat while working to mitigate fire risk. Recognizing the need to bring many voices to the table to discuss this and other complicated topics, Senator Lynn DeCoite, Co-Chair of the Hawaii Legislative Outdoor Heritage Caucus, joined with CSF and DLNR to host an educational reception aimed at connecting legislators with representatives of the sportsmen’s community and DLNR staff. The event included key informational pieces on the North American Model of Wildlife Management presented by CSF, water and habitat information from DLRN, and hunter safety information from the sporting-conservation community.
Recognizing the need to continue these conversations and to dig deeper into sporting and conservation topics, the members of the Hawaii Legislative Outdoor Heritage will begin hosting monthly meetings. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation will work to facilitate these meetings, connecting legislators with the appropriate DLNR and sporting community representatives for each topic, serving as the bridge between policy makers and the sportsmen’s community.
