Forestry & Wildlife

HONOLULU -- A draft management plan to help in the restoration and recovery of many rare plants and animals in the Pahole Natural Area Reserve (NAR) of O‘ahu’s Waianae mountain range is now available for public review and comment. The plan, prepared by the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), outlines the planned management activities in the reserve over the next 15 years. It is part of a series of site-specific plans to be prepared by DOFAW for natural area reserves throughout the state.

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources announces the opening of the 2016-2017 Game Bird Hunting Season on Saturday, November 5, 2016. Department biologists are predicting a below average season of bird hunting, with lingering drought impacts in many parts of the state. The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, January 29, 2017. 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).

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release October 18, 2016    RESCUED NEWELL’S SHEARWATER CHICK HEADS TO ...
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HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife has set a makeup hunt on Saturday and Sunday, October 29-30, 2016 for those hunters impacted by cancellation of the Lana‘i mouflon sheep rifle hunt originally set on September 3-4, 2016.

HILO -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will conduct animal control activities specifically for trapping mouflon/feral sheep hybrids; staff hunting, and/or aerial shooting from helicopters for feral goats, feral sheep, mouflon and mouflon/feral sheep hybrids within palila critical habitat in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve (Unit A), Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve (Unit K), Palila Mitigation Lands, and the Ka‘ohe Game Management Area (Unit G) on the island of Hawai‘i.

HANALEI – Once on the edge of extinction with only 50 birds remaining in the wild, it is today possible for Hawai‘i visitors and residents to see nēnē in the wild across Kaua‘i and the state thanks to conservation efforts, including captive breeding, that have worked to preserve these birds and re-establish them in their native habitat. The nēnē or Hawaiian goose was officially designated Hawai‘i’s state bird on May 7, 1957, and in 2003, September 26th was officially designated Nēnē Awareness Day by Governor Linda Lingle.

(HONOLULU) – “Clearly Hawai‘i’s commitments to conservation and sustainability are aligned with the world’s priorities and with the strategic issues of importance to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” observed Governor David Ige, on this last day of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Hawai‘i 2016. Thousands of delegates and members from 192 member countries spent the last ten days in Hawai‘i at the planet’s most important and high-level conservation gathering. Governor Ige deemed it a tremendous success and thanked the countless state and federal agencies, elected officials, conservation organizations, and volunteers who consistently spread the message: “What is clear now, more than ever before, is that we are in this together – one canoe navigating Island Earth.”

(Honolulu) – A series of aerial surveys of six Hawaiian Islands reveals that the fungal disease, known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death has impacted nearly 50,000 acres of native forest on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. That’s an increase of some 13,000 acres from surveys done earlier in 2016. “It’s important to note that the aerial surveys still need verification by conducting ground-truthing and lab tests,” said Philipp Lahaela Walter, State Resource & Survey Forester for the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). While some of the increase is due to expanding the survey area, much of it is due to new tree mortality.

HONOLULU - Travelling past lush ‘a‘ali‘i and ‘aweoweo bushes, and under monkey pod and Christmas berry trees laden with liliko‘i vines, Angelica Stevens turns to smile as she explains the plans for her parents’ nine acre agriculture parcel in Kona.

HONOLULU -- Hawai‘i is at an invasive species crossroads: the islands are home to more endangered species than any other state. Between 80-90% of all food is imported, and there are more than 8 million visitors annually, with hundreds of arriving flights and ships carrying cargo.