(Honolulu) – The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) is investigating the possible destruction of four, endangered Hawaiian ʻānunu vines in the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve on the backside of Pu‘u Huluhulu. This is where thousands of protesters have been illegally blocking Mauna Kea Access Road since mid-July. In addition to the alleged cutting of these vines, DOCARE officers found evidence that other rare plants have been trampled, either inadvertently or intentionally.
Forestry & Wildlife
(Gilbert Kahele Recreation Area) - 45 women, mostly from Hawai‘i, spent the last few days being schooled in outdoor skills during the first-ever “Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW)” retreat in Hawai’i. This is the Aloha State’s initial foray into a 20-year-old international program that sponsors skill-development weekends in 41 states, seven Canadian provinces and seven other countries.
(Līhuʻe) – In April 2018, severe floods caused serious damage to the Līhu‘e-Kōloa Forest Reserve and the road that runs through it, Loop Road, leaving it dangerous to the community. The DLNR Kaua’i Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will provide an update on the status and timeline for the Lihue Koloa Forest Reserve Loop Road restoration.
(Līhu‘e) - Recent helicopter surveys prompted foresters with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) to sample 10 dead ‘ōhi‘a in two locations within the Līhu‘e-Kōloa Forest Reserve. Six trees tested positive for Ceratocystis lukuohia, the more virulent of the two fungal pathogens causing Rapid ʻŌhi‘a Death, the disease killing ‘ōhi‘a across the state.
(HONOLULU) – Exploring Hawai‘i's diverse forest industry and connecting to any of the hundreds of businesses passionately involved with wood is now just a click away. The Hawai‘i Wood Utilization Team (HWUT) is launching the Hawai‘i Wood Products Directory. It’s an online search engine designed to highlight and connect the state’s wood industry while making it accessible and transparent to interested consumers.
(Honolulu)– Ohana Military Communities and Mililani Town were both named as 2018 Tree City USA by the State of Hawai‘i and the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of their commitment to effective urban forest management. These communities achieved Tree City USA status by assembling a tree board for their community, implementing a tree-care ordinance, maintaining an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and by organizing an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
(Hilo) - Since last year’s ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest at the Imiloa Astronomy Center, the less virulent of two strains of the fungal disease known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death, was detected in single trees on O‘ahu and Maui. The disease has now been detected on Kaua‘i, Maui, O‘ahu and on Hawai‘i Island. Ground zero continues to be the Big Island, where both strains of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death have killed hundreds of thousands of trees. This is the reason the ʻŌhiʻa Love Fest was conceived three years ago.
A one-year pilot project using canine teams to non-lethally haze Nēnē away from the Līhu`e Airport and Hōkūala Timbers Resort area was introduced at a news conference in Lihue on Tuesday. The new canine teams are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Service’s Hawai’i program and a collaboration partnership with the resort, Department of Land and Natural Resources as well as the Department of Transportation’s Airports Division.
(Lihue) – The population of Pacific Rats on tiny Lehua Island, off Kaua‘i’s west coast remains extremely low, two years after three applications of a rodenticide to clear them out of the State Seabird Sanctuary.
(Lihu‘e) -- Last spring, the Wailua Management Road (aka.Loop Road), which leads to the Blue Hole in the Wailua area experienced severe damage due to heavy rains, falling trees and landslides. The conditions continue to deteriorate and are posing a public safety hazard.