(HONOLULU) – This morning, at the 30th Annual Hawaiʻi Conservation Conference on Oʻahu, DLNR’s Edward “Luna” Kekoa received the 2023 Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance Outstanding Leadership Award for his contributions to community-based natural resource management and conservation in the state.

(HONOLULU) – The state Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) today voted to approve the dismantling of the Diamond Head Breakwater in front of Shangri La to address and deter unsafe behavior. Boulders from the breakwater will be relocated to create a natural rocky shoreline fronting the Shangri La estate seawall.

HONOLULU — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife released a draft environmental assessment for the use of Wolbachia-based incompatible male mosquitoes on the island of Kauaʻi to stop the spread of avian malaria. The draft environmental assessment will be available for public comment for 31 days.

(HONOLULU) – Granted, they had assistance from the drivers of 10 vehicles, who moved thousands of rare, threatened, and endangered Hawaiian snails from their home in Kailua to new digs in the Pearl City area, this morning. Their caretakers have dubbed the transfer, “The Great Snail Bail,” and believe it could well be a record for the number of protected species moved from one place to another at one time.

(HONOLULU) – Maintenance and repairs to portions of the Mānoa Falls Trail are scheduled to begin Monday, June 26 and will result in a five-day closure of the popular destination.

(HONOLULU) – Organizations across Hawai‘i are encouraged to apply for Kaulunani Community Partnership Grants to support projects that protect and enhance our urban and community trees and forests.

(HONOLULU) – The popular Diamond Head State Monument on O‘ahu was cleared at mid-day after the park’s water system had to be shut down. 

(HĀ‘ENA STATE PARK, KAUA‘I) – Today, following the signing of a bill by Governor Josh Green, M.D., facilitating the continued community-based management of this 65-acre state park, a case study on how the community worked together with government and the visitor industry to manage a destination hotspot was unveiled. 

(HILO, HAWAI‘I ISLAND) – Don’t let the winter’s rains fool you into thinking Hawai‘i won’t experience devastating wildfires anytime soon. As part of the annual Wildfire & Drought LOOKOUT! campaign, forecasters warned that the islands will begin experiencing drought conditions late this summer, that could extend all the way through next winter.

(ALAKA‘I PLATEAU, KAUA‘I) – From a remote camp, perched on a  narrow 3,000-foot cliff, near the top of Wainiha Valley, Justin Hite, and his team from the Kaua‘i Forest Bird Recovery Project (KFBRP), are in the midst of another field season. A season, that is probably the last for the diminutive native Hawaiian honeycreeper, the ‘akikiki.