(Hilo) - Next week staff from the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, the DLNR Divisions of State Parks and Forestry and Wildlife will be working to fell and remove several `ohi`a trees that show symptoms of the fungal disease known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD). After the first suspected detection at Kalōpā State Recreation Area in late July, three trees were sampled in the park and three in an adjacent forest reserve. Five of the six samples tested positive for C. lukuohia, one of a pair of fungi associated with Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death and the most aggressive of the two.
Forestry & Wildlife
HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources announces the 2018-2019 Game Bird Hunting Season opened on Saturday, November 3, 2018. The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, January 27, 2019. A valid hunting license and a game bird stamp are required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands. All game bird hunting is regulated by Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 122 (see https://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw “Administrative Rules” for all legal hunting days).
(Honolulu) - Grassroots groups Ka Iwi Coalition and Livable Hawaii Kai Hui (LHK), together with the DLNR Division of State Parks, will unveil and dedicate a bronze commemorative plaque during a ceremony at noon on Thursday, November 8, 2018. The ceremony is open to everyone. The date marks the 30th anniversary of the historic Sandy Beach Initiative vote, a key turning point in the people-powered defense of the open-space wilderness between Hanauma Bay and Makapu’u.
KAHULUI - The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and State Parks Division today opened the Kula Forest Reserve, Waipoli access road, Kahikinui Forest Reserve – Papa‘anui Tract, and Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area, following completion of a two-month project for road repairs, road safety improvements, and fuel mitigation work.
(Lihue) – In 1968, Hawai‘i had its first official Arbor Day plant and tree sale or giveaway, building on more than a century of recognizing this internationally designated holiday. It was on Kaua‘i and for the past 50 years the annual celebration of trees and plants has continued, expanding across the state with a multitude of tree and plant giveaways and sales. This week thousands of plants are being readied for sale with lots of help from ample rain.
(Hilo) – The Hawaii Ant Lab has won the 2018 Conservation Innovation Award by the Hawaii Conservation Alliance. The Ant Lab is a collaboration of the University of Hawaii’s Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, and was established in response to the Little Fire Ant invasion.
(Honolulu) – A recent land acquisition involving federal, state and private-sector partners will result in Oʻahu residents gaining new outdoor recreational opportunities, while protecting Central O‘ahu’s aquifer and improving habitat for native species, many of them endangered.
(Hilo) – Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), the fungal disease that’s impacted hundreds of thousands of acres of native ‘ōhi‘a forests in Hawai‘i, is the actual reason for the ʻŌhiʻa Love Festival today at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. Now in its second year, more than a thousand people honored ‘ōhi‘a and the many people working to stop the spread of ROD and find effective treatments for it. The festival goes beyond the disease.
(Maunakea) – Two weeks before the hunting season for game birds opens in Hawai‘i, hunters, researchers and staff from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) traipsed across the rugged terrain on Maunakea’s north slopes to gain a better understanding of game bird density, variety and populations.
(Honolulu) - A wastewater system improvement project by the Department of Land & Natural Resources Engineering and State Park divisions is currently being conducted at the Keaīwa Heiau State Recreation Area. The project started October 1st and is expected to take several months with an anticipated completion in March 2019 or earlier. The contractor is RHS Lee Inc. Project cost is $186,200.