News Releases

(Lihu‘e)  – School children from Kalaheo Elementary School and Island School helped release ten fledgling ‘A‘o (Newell’s Shearwaters) over the last two days during the annual E Ho‘opomaika‘i ‘ia na Manu ‘A‘o (A Cultural Release of the Native Newell’s Shearwater) event at Lydgate Park.  The young seabirds had been rescued by people then rehabilitated by Save Our Shearwaters (SOS). Before they started their journey back out to sea, Kupuna Maureen Fodale offered a pule (Hawaiian prayer).

(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.

(Hilo) – Later this month, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will conduct animal control activities specifically for trapping mouflon/feral sheep hybrids, feral goats, feral sheep, mouflon and mouflon/feral sheep hybrids within in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve (Unit A), Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve (Unit K), Palila Mitigation Lands, and the Kaohe Game Management Area (Unit G) on Hawai‘i island.  Aerial shooting is required for compliance with a federal court order mandating the removal of sheep and goats from critical habitat for palila, a bird endemic to Hawai‘i.

(Honolulu) - Following the rockslide event more than two weeks ago, the Manoa Falls Trail and Aihualama Trail reopen tomorrow, Monday, October 8, 2018. The trails also reopen to commercial tour vendors on Monday.

(Hilo) – During a regularly scheduled quarterly aerial assessment of forests on Hawai‘i island in late July, spotters detected more trees “symptomatic” for the presence of C. lukuohia, the fungus more commonly known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. These trees are in the Kalōpā State Recreation Area on the Hamakua Coast and after the helicopter surveys utilizing digital mobile sketch mapping (DMSM), ground crews from the Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC) followed up by taking ground samples.

HONOLULU --   Imagine waking up one day and finding there was no water.  No water to drink or to cook with.  No water to brush your teeth, to shower, flush the toilet, or do laundry with.  No water to fight fires or to irrigate our food crops.  Hospitals would close, schools would close, businesses would shut down.

(Kihei) -A wise old saying, an ‘olelo no‘eau, sums up what the staff at ‘Āhihi-Kina‘u (NAR) hope people will get out of its new information kiosk: Everybody paddles the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore is reached (E lauhoe mai na wa‘a; i ke kā, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke kā; pae aku i ka ‘āina).

(Honolulu) – Deer hunting enthusiasts can soon apply to hunt for the new season. The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announces that application forms for the 2019 Lana’i Axis deer hunting season, together with instruction sheets, will be available at all DOFAW Offices statewide beginning next Monday October 1, 2018. 

(HONOLULU) — Are you passionate about trees and their value for our well-being? Do you have professional experience you would like to apply to improving our urban and community forests and green spaces across the state? The Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program is seeking qualified and enthusiastic applicants for its Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council.

(Hilo, HI) – Tomorrow will mark a year since the successful reintroduction of critically endangered Hawaiian crows into the forests of Hawai’i. Yesterday researchers with The ʻAlalā Project released five more ‘Alalā into the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve. These birds will join eleven ‘Alalā already thriving in native forests on the windward slopes of Mauna Loa.