(WAIMEA, HAWAI‘I) – If you look at the Kamuela View Estates neighborhood just on the outskirts of Waimea, it’s hard to imagine it could be threatened by wildfire. Yet nearly three years-ago, a fast-moving fire swept down the denuded slopes on the lower flanks of the Kohala mountains.
Forestry & Wildlife
(HONOLULU) – In 2003, the Legislature passed Act 90 which set forth a process for the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to transfer non-ag park lands to the Department of Agriculture (DOA) for agricultural production. It requires a cooperative working relationship between both DLNR and DOA and their respective boards. An April 28, DLNR Land Division update to the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) included compliance with Act 90, current interdepartmental negotiations, and next steps.
(HONOLULU) – Two properties on O‘ahu, one on Kaua‘i, and one on Moloka‘i are being added to the DLNR 2023 Legacy Land Conservation Program.
(WAIKOLOA, HAWAI‘I) – At the direction of Governor Josh Green M.D., DLNR Chair Dawn Chang met today with the principals of ABayKitties, the organization that has provided cat food at a trio of feeding stations at the Queens’ Marketplace shopping center.
(HONOLULU) – The windswept ridges of the Waiʻanae range on Oʻahu’s west side are home to some of the rarest native plant species in Hawaiʻi. Earlier this month, staff from the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP), Laukahi, and the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) visited the area as part of a collaborative project to restore Lobelia oahuensis to the wild. It’s a species endemic to the island.
(HONOLULU) – Next week, the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra will host special performances for students weaving together music, art, science, and storytelling. “Symphony of the Hawai‘i Forests” is a collaboration including the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Hālau ʻŌhiʻa, and others to strengthen our pilina (relationships) with each other, our forests, and the arts.
(HONOLULU) - Typically, a field trip to see how kāhuli (native land snails) are protected from extinction requires access to a secure lab, hours of hiking to mountain-top forests, and plenty of caution to make sure attendees don’t accidentally harm the snails themselves.
(WAIKOLOA, HAWAI‘I) – The DLNR has directed the removal of cat-feeding stations located at a Hawai’i Island shopping center, following complaints that the endangered Hawai‘i state bird, the nēnē (Hawaiian goose), are being negatively impacted by the consumption of cat food and close contact with feral cats.
(HONOLULU) – Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), a disease caused by fungal pathogens that impacts native ʻōhiʻa trees, was recently detected for the first time in the Waiʻanae mountain range on Oʻahu.
(HILO, HAWAI‘I) – Two weeks ago, a drama unfolded when a woman allegedly snagged a nēnē gosling from its parents at Wailoa River State Recreation Area in Hilo.