With ongoing drought conditions causing axis deer to become a greater nuisance in Maui County, Gov. David Ige has signed yet another emergency proclamation in an effort to deal with the growing problem.

Ige said this week’s declaration offers state and county officials and private land managers tools to better control and reduce the axis deer population on Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

The proclamation also is expected to help with the development and implementation of a plan to address the growing deer population, now estimated to be 60,000 or more on Maui.

“It’s definitely a whole ecological problem we cannot ignore,” said Maui Councilwoman Yuki Lei Sugimura, who in September created a county task force to address the issue.

Officials in 2021 reported large numbers of axis deer migrating into Maui County agricultural and urban areas while searching out food and water during periods of drought.

The problem has led to the loss of farm crops, native species and soil that erodes into the sea. What’s more, hundreds of deer have died, with their decomposing carcasses threatening to contaminate streams and the ocean.

In 1959, in a move to establish new hunting opportunities, the state introduced five axis deer to Maui and then four the next year.

By 2002 a committee of land managers and public agency officials was urging the state to contain Maui’s exploding axis deer population before it led to greater safety, economic and environmental consequences.

In a report, the Maui Axis Deer Group said the deer population was doubling every four years and that the state needed to come up with an islandwide management plan and pay for efforts to deal with the problem.

That effort never took off, and for years herds of deer remained cryptic and elusive as the animals tended to blend into the landscape.

But in the past five to 10 years, their growing numbers have been nearly impossible to ignore — especially for the residents, farmers and ranchers who live Upcountry.

“Everybody’s got stories about them,” said Makawao resident Jeff Bagshaw, who works for the Maui Nui branch of the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife. “They’re everywhere. If you walk on Kula Road before sunset, you will see them.”

The axis deer stick out even more in times of drought, when herds invade farms, backyards and urbanized areas in search of food.

Ige issued his first axis deer emergency proclamation in January 2021 to help officials deal quickly with the hundreds of animals dying on Molokai due to extreme drought.

In January of this year he issued another one to address the proliferating axis deer around Kahului Airport and to ensure the safety of planes and passengers. The fence around the airport was reinforced to make it deer-proof, among other things.

The latest proclamation will help officials implement strategies to reduce and control the deer population, including corralling of axis deer and culling the population to sustainable levels. Additionally, it calls for clearing vegetation along fence lines and shoring up fences to keep deer away from key infrastructure to protect the community’s health and welfare.

Sugimura and Mayor Michael Victorino in September formed the Maui Axis Deer Task Force with a mission of managing and controlling the deer population as well as to seek out more resources and funding. The panel has representatives from all levels of government, plus members from the Maui County Farm Bureau, ranchers, veterinarians and hunters, among others.

Maui County’s current budget has $1.5 million dedicated to the axis deer problem, and the next budget is expected to include another $1 million, Sugimura said.

Additionally, the Legislature is now weighing at least two measures that call for funding and efforts to address the issue. “All branches of the government have recognized the problem,” the councilwoman said.

Bagshaw said the axis deer problem has been taking up an increasing amount of time for state wildlife managers in Maui County, much of it helping private landowners control the herds trampling their lands and destroying crops and vegetation.

In 2021 the goal was to reduce the Maui axis deer population by 10,000, he said. The goal now is 15,000 — enough to hold the population at its current level.

Bagshaw said lawmakers and other community leaders are taking the axis deer problem seriously after predecessors kicked the can down the road. “We’re having to face the can right now,” he said.