Forestry & Wildlife

(HONOLULU) – Nearly every week the local news reports on hikers who’ve gotten lost and disoriented or who have fallen and been injured or even killed. Often times these hikers were on non-sanctioned or ‘social trails’ highlighted by various social media sites and blogs.  The DLNR Na Ala Hele Trail and Access System, administered by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife has introduced a newly designed trails website which provides detailed information, directions, safety considerations, announcements and closure status for more than 100 official State trails.

(HONOLULU) – In the first year of its 10-year plan to strengthen biosecurity, the State of Hawai‘i reports it took dozens of steps to better present, detect and control invasive species in Hawai‘i.

LIHU‘E, KAUA‘I —   The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announces the future availability of feral goat control permits in Hunting Unit A, Kekaha Game Management Area (GMA) on the island of Kaua‘i, pursuant to Title 13, Chapter 123-2.2, 5, 5.1 and 9 in “Rules Regulating Game Mammal Hunting.”

(HILO, HAWAI‘I) – You usually hear them before you see them.  There’s no mistaking the loud and often times synchronized cacophony of caws from eleven ‘Alalā released into a Hawai‘i Island Natural Area Reserve (NAR) last fall. These birds, seven young males and four young females, represent what conservationists hope is the beginning of a recovered population of the endangered Hawaiian crow on the island.  ‘Alalā have been extinct in the wild since 2002. Since the birds took flight from a remote forest aviary in September and October 2017, they’ve been under the daily, watchful eyes of a monitoring team from the Hawai‘i Endangered Conservation Program, a field program of the San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG).  In partnership with the Hawai‘i Dept. of Land & Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others, SDZG reared the ‘Alalā at its centers on the Big Island and on Maui.

(LIHU‘E, KAUA‘I) --   This winter, the Wailua Management Road (aka.Loop Road), which leads to Kaua‘i’s Blue Hole area, has experienced severe damage due to heavy rains and falling trees. The road was closed on November 26, 2017 to all public access (foot and vehicular travel) beyond the point popularly known as “Jurassic” gate, due to hazardous road conditions. 

KAHULUI --  A project to remove and trim hazardous trees within the Waihou Springs State Forest Reserve along the Olinda and Piiholo road corridor began yesterday and is anticipated to take between five to seven days between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.  There will be no road closures, however there may be temporary stoppage of vehicular traffic lasting no more than five minutes.

HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announces a shorter hunting season for the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) in the State of Hawaii. To comply with federal mandates, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and to meet current state regulations, the last day for hunting mourning dove is now January 17, 2018.

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), in partnership with the Division of State Parks is updating the master plan for the Kawainui-Hāmākua project area. Various improvements are proposed that are addressed in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) published on December 8, 2017.

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Nā Ala Hele Trails and Access Program is conducting an online survey and community meeting to seek input on future planning for the Ka‘iwa Ridge Trail (commonly known as the Lanikai Pillbox Trail).

(Lihue, Kaua‘i) – A rapid assessment team comprised of experts from Island Conservation (IC), the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife’s (DOFAW) non-native avian predator control team, and the Kaua‘i Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP) flew to Lehua island Tuesday, after checks of motion-detecting field cameras showed the presence of two rats on the island.