(Honolulu) Today, Hawai’i Governor David Ige, DLNR Chair Suzanne Case, Trust For Public Land State Director Lea Hong, and funding partners celebrated the acquisition of forest and former pineapple cultivated lands in Central O‘ahu that are being added to the State’s Forest Reserve System. Over 2,800 acres of mountain watershed and agricultural lands have been conserved for forestry, native reforestation, water source protection and recreational purposes.
Forestry & Wildlife
(Honolulu) – As we near the spring season it marks the beginning of the annual Hawai‘i Big Tree Competition. The Big Tree Competition is sponsored by the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and nonprofit organization American Forests. This competition aims to spotlight the largest trees of native species recognized in the registry, as well as raise awareness about the importance of healthy trees and forests.
(Honolulu) – Catastrophic wildfires, degraded watersheds, epidemics of invasive species and disease are but a few of the challenges facing forest managers across the country and in Hawai‘i. Add these threats to increasing demands for a variety of uses of public forest lands and managers have their hands full.
(Hilo) –Archery hunting in the Pu’uanahulu Game Management area (GMA) begins Sunday, March 1, 2020 and continues weekends and state holidays through Sunday, June 28, 2020. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) also announce that the annual closure of the archery season in this GMA will be from July through February.
(Hilo) – The spring season for bearded turkey hunting on Hawai‘i Island begins Sunday March 1, 2020. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announces the opening of the spring season which will run for 46 consecutive days through Wednesday, April 15, 2020.
(Makawao) - Approximately a dozen pine and eucalyptus trees as tall as 70-feet in the Makawao State Forest Reserve on Maui will be assessed and flagged for removal from February 16-29, 2020. The trees surround the upper parking lot of the Kahakapao Recreation Area (KRA).
(Honolulu) – A critical parcel of land for protecting an important watershed on Moloka‘i’s east side has been acquired by the State. Pua‘ahala was previously owned by K&H Horizons Hawai‘i. It comprises 800 acres of an entire ahupua‘a from the top of the mountain to the ocean. It will protect the island’s remaining watershed forests and cultural resources, as well as safeguard freshwater resources that sustain the people of Moloka‘i.
(Līhuʻe) - Nearly 40 years ago an intergovernmental treaty was signed that provided the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. World Wetlands Day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. Each year since 1997, government agencies and community organizations have offered programs aimed at raising awareness about the values and benefits of wetlands.
(Honolulu) – The 2020-2024 update to the original strategic response plan for the fight against Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death notes many challenges ahead. Released today, the plan calls for additional funding of $4 million, each year, over the next five years to continue progress toward understanding and addressing the fungal disease that has seriously impacted Hawai‘i’s native forests.
Lihu‘e – The killing of an endangered Hawaiian Petrel chick involved in a tracking project highlights the continued threat of feral cats to native wildlife on Kaua῾i. The chick had been satellite tagged with two others as part of a research project by the Kaua῾i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP) to locate the petrel’s first oceanic wintering grounds. When the tag continued to transmit from land over several weeks, researchers returned to the bird’s forest burrow in late November to find it had been killed by a cat. The kill was caught on a camera that was hidden to monitor the burrow.