LIHU‘E -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) announces the opening of the black-tailed deer hunting season on the island of Kaua‘i.  Rules and conditions regulating game mammal hunting in Title 13, Chapter 123 will be in effect.

(Lihue) -  Hāʻena State Park, the adjacent Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park and the popular Kalalau Trail have been closed since the unprecedented flooding in mid-April.  The same storm which caused multiple landslides along Kūhiō Highway, isolating communities beyond Hanalei, severely damaged park infrastructure at Hāʻena and caused significant impacts along the Kalalau Trail.

(Honolulu) – Each day for ten days a group of twenty teenagers gather in the morning for their latest lessons on the preservation of O‘ahu’s coastal, wetland, and forest areas. This is the second year of Kupu Kōkua Camp, a partnership between the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and the non-profit Kupu which trains thousands of young people each year in conservation, sustainability and environmental education.

HONOLULU --   The DLNR Division of State Parks will close the Pu‘u ‘Ualaka‘a  (Tantalus) state wayside all day on Thursday, July 19 while a tree contractor will be working on removal of a large earpod tree and other tree trimming in the park. The tree is fairly large so the whole parking lot will be closed. Tour companies are being notified. The lookout road will be barricaded and park closed signs will be posted. The park will reopen on Friday.

(Hilo) – The flow from fissure #8 is slowly creeping to the State of Hawai‘i’s Pohoiki Boat Ramp adjacent to Hawai‘i County’s Issac Hale Park.  During an assessment of eruption impacts today, steam and volcanic gasses from the nearby ocean entry wafted over the tall trees in the park’s now empty parking lot.  Stephen Schmelz, Hawai’i Island Branch Manager for the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) estimates the lava, if it maintains its current course and speed, could overtake Pohoiki and Issac Hale Park within the next few days.

(Honolulu) – Following Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s announcement of the City and County of Honolulu Directive 18-01, the co-chairs of the Hawai‘i Climate Change and Adaptation Commission (the Commission) applauded this proactive move as an, “important step toward minimizing risks and adapting to the impacts of sea level rise.”

(Honolulu) – At least ten people on a Hawaiian Lava Boat Tours vessel were injured this morning after an explosion sent lava through the roof of the boat’s passenger cabin.  Other reports indicate as many as 12 passengers were hurt. Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) along with the Hawai‘i County Police Dept. are investigating the incident.

(Honolulu)  A juvenile whale shark with heavy gauge line wrapped around its mid-section was spotted a second time this week.  Initial reports of the entangled whale shark were received on Sunday off Olowalu and then on Thursday several commercial snorkel/dive tour companies reported the shark on the backside of Molokini, off Maui’s south shore.

(Honolulu) – Today the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife’s (DOFAW) Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program reached a major milestone. For the last two years a group of volunteers in Kailua have been gathering information on individual trees in Kailua. They measure and map each tree and their data provides valuable information about urban trees that helps resource experts better manage these important community assets.  In recognition of the first team of Citizen Foresters, DLNR/DOFAW presented them with a DLNR & YOU Citizen Conservationist award.

(Honolulu) – When it comes to food Hawaiian monk seals behave much like dogs.  Feed them once and they’ll come back for more.  That’s one of the messages the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is relaying to fishers who frequent the small bay adjacent to the Kahe Power Plant on O‘ahu’s Wai‘anae coast.