Pursuant to Section 91-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”), notice is hereby given of proposed rulemaking and public hearing by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (“Department”) to consider amendments to Hawaii Administrative Rules, Title 13, Subtitle 5, Part 1, Chapter 104, Rules Regulating Activities Within Forest Reserves.

KONA, HAWAI‘I --    A park improvement project expected to take three months has begun at the Maninʻōwali (Kua Bay) section of Kekaha Kai State Park in Kona, Hawaiʻi. The work consists of addition of a new beach access stairway, additional rinsing showers, picnic tables, and repairs and upgrades to the existing restroom facility. The project is expected to be completed by July 1, 2018.

HONOLULU --   A two-month project to rehabilitate two historic World War II-era structures known as the Lanikai “pillboxes” on the popular hiking trail on Ka‘iwa ridge, Kailua will begin on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. 

HANAPEPE, KAUA‘I – To help battle the spread of avian malaria in the native forest birds of the Garden Island,  the Kauaʻi Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP) is launching a crowdfunding campaign today. They are seeking to raise $50,000 to support field teams that monitor the birds, and seek out and eradicate local mosquito populations.

HONOLULU --  The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Land Division, has issued a Request for Interest (RFI) relating to the former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel site, more recently known as the Pagoda Hilo Bay Hotel, located in Hilo, Hawaii, on Tax Map Keys: (3) 2-1-005: 033, 034, 035 and 045 (Site). The total land area of the Site is approximately 1.83 acres, more or less.

(HONOLULU) – Early in the morning on Jan. 20, 2018 a DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources (DOCARE) officer spotted a man about 100 yards offshore of Wailupe Beach Park using a headlamp.  The officer reports the light was focused on a kayak and the man was walking in chest deep water next to it. Peering through binoculars the officer saw the man “pulling long continuous sections of lay net from the water and loading it onto the red kayak.”

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources is pleased to announce the opening of archery, muzzleloader, and regular rifle hunting seasons for feral goats on the island of Kaua‘i.  Pursuant to Title 13, Chapter 123 “Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting,” the following rules and conditions will be in effect for the hunt:

(HONOLULU) – One day after Christopher P. Barclay was cited by officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), he was arrested at Diamond Head State Monument on a 2015 bench warrant for failure to appear. The charge in that case was for Soliciting and Sales on DLNR land.

HONOLULU -- Applications for the 2018 Lana‘i mouflon sheep hunting season, together with instruction sheets, will be available at all Department of Land and Natural Resource (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife offices statewide beginning Monday, March 19, 2018.  Applicants may also apply online. 

(HONOLULU) – O‘ahu’s highest point, Mt. Ka‘ala, at 4,025 feet above sea level is most often shrouded in fog and mist. The flat-top mountain in the Wai‘anae Mountains hosts numerous native and rare plants and animals and is culturally significant. 1,100 acres of this rugged mountain terrain was protected under the State’s Natural Area Reserve System in 1981.