In celebration of Arbor Day in Hawaii on November 4, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) invites native plant enthusiasts to plant sales and giveaways happening across the state this weekend. DOFAW plant nurseries on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi island will be offering a variety of native plants to encourage their use in home gardening and landscaping.
Forestry & Wildlife
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), O‘ahu Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and the Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF), in conjunction with Community Planning & Engineering, Inc. (CPE) have begun road repairs to the Kamananui Valley Road in Moanalua Valley. Kamananui Valley Road and the popular Kulana‘ahane hiking trail will remain open during regular trail hours; however, some phases of the project will require periodic, full-valley closures.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources announces the opening of the 2017-2018 game bird hunting season on Saturday, November 4, 2017. The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, January 28, 2018. A valid hunting license and a game bird stamp are required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands. All game bird hunting is regulated by Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 122 (see https://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw “Administrative Rules” for all legal hunting days).
Every Sunday morning, for the past twelve years, members of the Manoa Cliff Restoration team trudge up the Maona Cliff Trail in the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve to begin another day of work. This is a labor of love; one born out of concern for the health of native forests being choked out by invasive species.
School children from Island School helped release three fledgling ‘A‘o (Newell’s Shearwaters) and one ‘Ua‘u Kani (Wedge-tailed Shearwater) as part of the annual E Ho‘opomaika‘i ‘ia na Manu ‘A‘o (A Cultural Release of the Native Newell’s Shearwater) event held at Lydgate Park today. The event was organized by the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project (KESRP) and the Save Our Shearwaters (SOS) project. Children from Kanuikapono Charter School in Anahola will attend a similar event tomorrow.
Five young ‘alalā, two females and three males, were released into Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve (NAR) on the Island of Hawai‘i on Wednesday, October 11th. This second group of birds joins a previous group that had been released into the forest at the end of September. These eleven birds represent what conservationists hope will be the beginning of a recovered population of the endangered crow species on the island.
The recent project aimed at eradicating invasive rats from the State of Hawai‘i’s Seabird Sanctuary on Lehua Island is the subject of a half-hour long TV documentary that chronicles the operation from beginning to end. Scheduled for broadcast on KFVE-TV (K5) on Saturday, Oct. 21st and Sunday, Oct. 22nd at 9:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. respectively, the program was produced by DLNR with support from the Lehua Island Restoration Steering Committee; the group of government agencies, non-profit and community organizations, and other supporters involved in the eradication of rats.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife’s Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program is bringing its successful and unique Citizen Forestry Tree Inventory Program to the Honolulu ahupua‘a of Waikiki. The program, which begins training in mid-October, seeks volunteers to become Citizen Foresters and help gather valuable data about Honolulu’s urban trees that contributes towards improved management of these important community assets.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of State Parks has begun repair work to the 0.4-mile loop trail at Akaka Falls State Park, necessitated due to accidental damage caused by earlier removal of invasive albizia trees in February this year. Site Engineering was selected as contractor and cost estimate is $297,400. Work is expected to be completed in December.
Six young ‘Alalā—critically endangered Hawaiian crows—were released into Pu‘u Maka‘ala Natural Area Reserve on the Island of Hawai‘i, today. The first group of birds: two females and four males took some time to emerge from the aviary where they had been temporarily housed and they appeared to show a natural curiosity for their surroundings. Plans are to release a second group of five birds: two females and three males in mid-October from the same release aviary