(a) Any species of aquatic life, wildlife, or land plant that has been determined to be an endangered species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act shall be deemed to be an endangered species under this chapter and any indigenous species of aquatic life, wildlife, or land plant that has been determined to be a threatened species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act shall be deemed to be a threatened species under this chapter. The department may determine, in accordance with this section, however, that any such threatened species is an endangered species throughout all or any portion of the range of such species within this State. (b) In addition to the species that have been determined to be endangered or threatened pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, the department, by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91, may determine any indigenous species of aquatic life, wildlife, or land plant to be an endangered species or a threatened species because of any of the following factors: (1) The present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range(,) (2) Overutilization for commercial, sporting, scientific, educational, or other purposes(,) (3) Disease or predation(,) (4) The inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms(,) or (5) Other natural or artificial factors affecting its continued existence within Hawaii. (c) The department shall make determinations required by subsection (b) on the basis of all available scientific, commercial, and other data after consultation, as appropriate, with federal agencies, other interested state and county agencies, and interested persons and organizations. (d) The department shall issue rules containing a list of all species of aquatic life, wildlife, and land plants that have been determined, in accordance with subsections (a) to (c), as endangered species and a list of all such species so designated as threatened species. Each list shall include the scientific, common, and Hawaiian names, if any, and shall specify with respect to each such species over what portion of its range it is endangered or threatened. Except with respect to species of aquatic life, wildlife, or land plants determined to be endangered or threatened pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, the department, upon its own recommendation or upon the petition of three interested persons who have presented to the department substantial evidence that warrants review, shall conduct a review of any listed or unlisted indigenous species proposed to be removed from or added to the lists published pursuant to this subsection.; (j) Subsection (e) and any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, the department shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 authorizing the propagation, possession, ownership, and sale of selected endangered and threatened land plant species grown from cultivated nursery stock and not collected or removed from the wild.;(a) There is established within the department for administrative purposes only, the endangered species recovery committee, which shall serve as a consultant to the board and the department on matters relating to endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species. The committee shall consist of two field biologists with expertise in conservation biology, the chairperson of the board or the chairperson's designee, the ecoregion director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the director's designee, the director of the United States Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division or the director's designee, the dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa college of natural sciences or the dean's designee, and a person possessing a background in native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices . . . (b) The endangered species recovery committee shall: (1) Review all applications and proposals for habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, and incidental take licenses and make recommendations, based on a full review of the best available scientific and other reliable data and at least one site visit to each property that is the subject of the proposed action, and in consideration of the cumulative impacts of the proposed action on the recovery potential of the endangered, threatened, proposed, or candidate species, to the department and the board as to whether or not they should be approved, amended, or rejected(,) (2) Review all habitat conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, and incidental take licenses on an annual basis to ensure compliance with agreed to activities and, on the basis of any available monitoring reports, and scientific and other reliable data, make recommendations for any necessary changes(,) (3) Consider and recommend appropriate incentives to encourage landowners to voluntarily engage in efforts that restore and conserve endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species(,) (4) Perform such other duties as provided in this chapter(,) (5) Consult with persons possessing expertise in such areas as the committee may deem appropriate and necessary in the course of exercising its duties(,) and (6) Not conduct more than one site visit per year to each property that is the subject of a habitat conservation plan or safe harbor agreement.; The department, after consultation with the endangered species recovery committee, by December 31 of each year, shall prepare a report summarizing: (1) The status of all endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species for which incidental take licenses pursuant to sections 195D-4 and 195D-22 have been issued and the effectiveness of all habitat conservation plans and safe harbor agreements that have been approved(,) (2) The condition of the trust fund established under this chapter, including receipts and expenditures over the previous fiscal year(,) and (3) Any recommendations to further the purposes of this chapter. The report and all information pertaining to incidental take licenses shall be available to the public.; (a) The department, subject to the provisions of this section, may declare any indigenous species as endangered and establish, implement, and enforce interim rules governing the exportation from the State or the taking, possession, sale, offer for sale, delivery, or transport within the State, by any means whatsoever, of any such endangered species. These rules shall not be subject to chapter 91. (b) An interim rule may be adopted in the event that the exportation, taking, possession, sale, offer for sale, delivery, or transport of any indigenous species, in the absence of effective rules, creates a significant risk of a local extirpation or species extinction, which is so imminent in nature as to constitute an emergency. No interim rule may be adopted without such finding by the department. (c) Interim rules adopted pursuant to this section shall be effective as stated by the rules(,) provided that: (1) Any interim rule shall be published statewide at least once as provided in section 1-28.5(a)(1) within five days after issuance(,) and (2) No interim rule shall be effective for more than one hundred eighty days.;
Citation: HRS § 195D-4; HRS § 195D-4;HRS § 195D-25; HRS § 195D-26; HRS § 195D-6.5;