(Mākena State Park, Maui) – It’s become a Sunday night tradition that regulars on Maui fiercely defend. Every week, for years, hundreds of people gather at Little Beach (Puʻu Ōlaʻi) to view the week’s first sunset. Long-time participants claim it’s a spiritual gathering. There’s a drum circle and dancing. Drummer George Chyz claimed that drumming is rooted in culture and this is a way for people to show their respect.  

(HILO) – In a steady rain you hear the chorus of native Hawaiian birds. Jackson Bauer, with the DLNR Na Ala Hele Trails and Access Program, identifies the sing-song chirp of the ‘ōma’o and then the ‘elepaio, calling its own name. Such are the sounds of the native forest along the new Kaulana Manu Nature Trail on Hawai‘i island. Add in the natural beauty of ‘ōhi‘a and koa trees, and an intact profusion of native plants, shrubs and insects  -- one even known as the happy-face spider -- and it lives up to its billing as a nature lovers paradise. 

(Makena State Park, Maui) – A team of eight officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) conducted a law enforcement operation this evening at Little Beach in Makena State Park on Maui.

 (Honolulu) – The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) announces the launch of a virtual class for thrill craft certification by Windward Community College (WCC). The new and improved virtual certification course for new thrill craft owners and operators will be live on Monday, November 23, 2020. 

(LIHU‘E)— To reduce the risk of fires in the Pu‘u Ka Pele Forest Reserve on Kaua‘i, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife ( DOFAW) is proposing forest thinning and fire break maintenance. Community members are invited to provide input on the proposed efforts via a virtual public meeting. This meeting will be at 9:00am on December 1, 2020. In addition to gathering people’s input, this meeting is intended to address questions or concerns regarding this project.

(Honolulu) – A roughly 1,260-acre parcel in Waiea, on Hawai‘i island is being proposed as an addition to the Hawai‘i Natural Area Reserve (NAR) System. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will hold a virtual hearing at 6:00 p.m. on November 30, 2020 to receive community testimony about this proposal. The area is contiguous to other land parcels that are under management for forest, wildlife, and water conservation, and its addition would strengthen native ecosystem protection in the South Kona area.

(Honolulu) – While organizers always hope for more people to participate, experience has shown that the first meeting of community members, experts, and researchers, to discuss wildfire, always leads to good things.  

(Honolulu) - The COVID-19 pandemic is providing the opportunity for ‘ōhi‘a lovers across Hawai‘i to participate in the annual ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest, which previously has been held as an in-person event in Hilo. Anyone, anywhere can celebrate Hawai‘i’s most abundant tree, ‘ōhi‘a lehua, during this week-long virtual event.  

(O‘ahu) – The first step toward a community proactively protecting itself from wildfire is the development of a wildfire protection plan. People on O‘ahu’s North Shore have an opportunity on   November 14 to attend a virtual workshop to begin the development of a North Shore Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). 

(HONOLULU)–Hidden behind a thick barrier of kiawe trees, on beaches facing the airport, dozens of homeless people set up their tents and hand-fashioned homes. They are doing this on state-owned land at the Sand Island State Recreation Area SRA). Scattered across the beach and near the trees are personal belongings, the frames, wheels and components of many bicycles, mopeds, cooking & eating utensils, bottles and cans…pretty much everything one would associate with living off the land.