Department of Land and Natural Resources

(PUNA, HAWAI‘I ISLAND) – The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is closing the Kahaualeʻa Natural Area Reserve in Puna for 90 days due to a shift in eruptive activity at Kīlauea Volcano. The closure, effective immediately, may be extended if hazardous conditions continue.

JOSH GREEN, M.D. GOVERNOR DAWN CHANG CHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 14, 2024   KAMEHAMENUI FOREST WILDLIFE CONTROL HUNT ANNOUNCED Hunter assistance requested between August 15 and October 31 (KULA, ...
Read More 8/14/24 – KAMEHAMENUI FOREST WILDLIFE CONTROL HUNT ANNOUNCED

(HILO) – The Hawaiʻi Forest Reserve System is open for expansion, with two new parcels containing 7,200 acres being proposed for addition to state forest lands on the island of Hawaiʻi. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) invites comment on the proposed additions at a community hearing it will host on March 28, 2024.

(WAIHOU SPRING FOREST RESERVE, MAUI) – Two days shy of the two-month anniversary of the start of the 1,000-acre Olinda Fire, daily fire patrols continue. Firefighters from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) continue checking for hot spots and smokers. 

(WAIHOU SPRING FOREST RESERVE, MAUI) – Indicative of serious drought conditions, in upcountry Maui, is the need for daily attention along the fire lines of the 1,000-acre Olinda fire. It started the same day, August 8, as the devastating fire that leveled Lāhainā town and left hundreds dead or unaccounted for. 

(HONOLULU) – Two additional hearings have been scheduled for Maui and Moloka‘i for people to comment on a proposal to protect nearly 100 unencumbered state land parcels across Hawai‘i as part of the State Forest Reserves, Natural Area Reserves, and Wildlife Sanctuaries systems.

(Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve, Hawai‘i Island) – Native hawaiian honeycreepers face multiple threats from predation, habitat loss, and disease. Their declining populations contribute to Hawaiiʻs unfortunate reputation as the “Extinction Capital of the World”. However, the decades-long reforestation of Puʻu Makaʻala provides an outstanding example of the value of native forest restoration and endangered species protection.

(HONOLULU) – DLNR is seeking comments on a proposal to protect nearly 100 unencumbered State land parcels across Hawai'i as part of the State Forest Reserves, Natural Area Reserves, and Wildlife Sanctuaries systems. 

(Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve, Hawai‘i) - The fate of several types of Hawaiian honeycreepers hangs in the balance, with the possibility of at least two species going extinct in the very near future.

(HILO) – Less than 24-hours after the current eruption of Mauna Loa began, Steve Bergfeld, the Hawai‘i Island Branch Chief with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) worried most about the Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve (NAR) on the southeast side of the mountain. At that time lava flows were headed into the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa.