(HONOLULU) – In a 73-page decision today, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the First Circuit Court’s ruling upholding the State Board of Land and Natural Resources (Board) decision on a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Incidental Take License (ITL) for the Na Pua Makani wind power project on the north shore of O‘ahu.
Forestry & Wildlife
(HONOLULU) – A roughly 300-acre parcel mauka (upland) of the Hawaiʻi Loa and Niu Valley subdivisions has been officially designated as a new Hawai‘i State Natural Area Reserve (NAR). Governor David Ige signed an Executive Order on February 3, creating the Pia Valley NAR.
(KIHEI) - Four mineral sunblock dispensers are up on this Valentine’s Day on south Maui shores, encouraging all to “love the ocean the right way.” Two are at the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘u Natural Area Reserve and a pair are to be installed at Mākena State Park. Thousands of people enter the ocean at these locations every day.
(OLINDA, MAUI) – Bird conservation projects across Hawai‘i rely entirely on government funding, as well as grants from non-government organizations and donations from non-profits. It’s a constant struggle to stay financially afloat, particularly in the face of serious threats to numerous forest bird species.
(Hilo) - The opening of the 2022 spring bearded turkey hunting season begins on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. The spring season will run for 46 consecutive days through Friday, April 15, 2022. The spring season will be for bearded turkeys only, in locations identified below.
(LĪHU‘E) – Almost four years after Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) was first detected in a lower-elevation forest in northeast Kaua’i, the fungus known to exclusively infect ʻōhiʻa has been found in a dead ʻōhiʻa in the pristine wilderness area of the Alakaʻi at 4,100-feet elevation.
(Hilo) – Archery hunting in the Pu‘u Anahulu Game Management Area (GMA) will begin on Saturday, March 5, 2022, and continue on weekends and state holidays through Sunday, June 26, 2022.
(Honolulu) – Invasive species have a devastating effect on the state’s agriculture, food self-sufficiency, freshwater quality and quantity, human health, and on the health of native species and ecosystems. February 1st marks the start of Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month (HISAM).
(Kailua-Kona) – On the slopes of Hualālai above the bustle of Kailua-Kona, an important forested watershed is being restored. The Honuaʻula State Forest Reserve, first created in 1906 and greatly expanded in 2006, now covers 8,000 acres of land critical to the well being of the people, plants, and animals within and nearby.
(Honolulu) – Hawai’i has less than one percent of the overall land mass in the U.S. but is often referred to as the “Endangered Species Capital of the World” as the state has 44 percent of the nation’s endangered and threatened plant species.