Forestry & Wildlife

(LĪHUʻE) – A shocking drop in numbers of ‘akikiki, an endangered forest bird, was recorded this year at Halehaha, a field site in the central mountains of Kaua’i. Biologists monitoring the area found that the population of more than 70 birds recorded in 2015 had declined to just five in 2021.  

(Līhuʻe, Kaua‘i) – Nearly every weekend, the distinctive sound of four-stroke dirt bike engines fills the air along with red dust, between Koke‘e State Park and Kekaha on both sides of Highway 552.  

(Hilo) – The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will be conducting maintenance work on Muliwai trail and Waimanu campground between November 15-18. The Muliwai trail will be closed to all users during this period.

(Honolulu) – The trees in our communities provide us with so much: shade from the sun, fruit to eat, and the air we breathe. Arbor Day is a worldwide holiday dedicated to honoring, planting, and enjoying the benefits of trees. Arbor Day has been recognized in Hawai’i for over 110 years, and every November communities throughout the islands gather to celebrate!

Join the celebration of Hawai‘i’s endemic trees at the 2021 ʻŌhiʻa Love Festival. Expanding from a single species to an entire ecosystem, this year’s festival theme is “Celebrate Forests.”  

(HONOLULU)- The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announces the opening of the 2021-2022 Game Bird Hunting Season on Saturday, November 6, 2021. The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, January 30, 2022. To comply with federal mandates, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and to meet current state regulations, the last day for hunting mourning dove will be January 16, 2022.

(Līhuʻe) – It was last seen on Hawai‘i Island five years ago and thought possibly to be extinct. A rare, critically endangered fern that grows on ʻōhiʻa and on a few other native tree was recently discovered by a team from the Hawai‘i Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP). 

(HONOLULU) – Imagine your job is hanging 300 feet on a thin rope, on nearly vertical cliffs, in Waimea Canyon on Kaua‘i. This is precisely what Adam Williams, a botanist with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), and Scott Heintzman with the state’s Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP) do on a regular basis. 

(HONOLULU) – 100,000,000 is a hard number to wrap your head around. One trillion is even tougher and that’s the number of trees a new challenge hopes to plant, conserve, or restore this decade worldwide. https://www.1t.org/ 1t.org is part of the World Economic Forum’s efforts to accelerate nature-based solutions and was set up to support the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. 

(KAHULUI) – The rusting fence around the Kanahā Pond Wildlife Sanctuary on Maui is closer to being replaced with a predator-proof fence, with Governor Ige’s Wednesday release of initial funding for the project. The bird sanctuary, surrounded by urban and industrial development, has also been a focus of this week’s mass clean-up of trash, vehicles, and camps from adjacent Amala Place.