Invasive goats are ravaging the 420-acre Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historic Park along the west side of Hawaii Island.
As a result, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is enlisting the help of permit-carrying residents to humanely remove the goats from the site that was once a hub for religious and political activities in the Kona district.
DLNR is using a random lottery system to award permits to receive the goats at the Kamuela DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) office on Wednesday, July 28.
The lottery drawing is closed to the public due to COVID-19, but the results will be published on the DLNR website.
Those who receive permits to participate in the goat salvage project must have a fully enclosed 16-foot horse trailer, or equivalent, to receive the feral goats alive safely.
Permitted residents can receive between 20 and 50 goats with their permit, and DOFAW hopes to remove at least 700 goats from the sacred cultural land.
"Those participating in the salvage process can help protect the natural and cultural resources of Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, while also utilizing the resources of goats being removed from the site. Further information can be obtained by calling the Kamuela DOFAW office at 808-887-6063," according to the DLNR website.
The park will be closed on Aug. 11, the website said.