News Releases

In an order (Minute Order No. 43) issued today, contested case hearing officer Judge Riki May Amano (ret.) notified the parties of upcoming filing deadlines in the Contested Case Hearing for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) at the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. During the evidentiary portion of the Contested Case Hearing, spread over five months in late 2016 and early 2017, twenty-five parties to the case presented testimony and evidence.

Five public libraries on Hawai‘i island and O‘ahu now have copies of transcripts from Contested Case HA-16-02 regarding the Conservation District Use Application (CDUA) for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. The copies are available for public review but they cannot be checked out. Any parties to the contested case or members of the public who wish to have a copy directly from the court reporter should contact the court reporting agencies listed below.

A boat operator, who advertised his “Epic Boat After Party,” on social media, was cited by the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) on Easter Sunday for conducting commercial activities without a permit. Among the 15 passengers Adam Taylor carried on his boat to the Ahu o Laka sand bar in Kaneohe Bay, were undercover DOCARE officers who paid Taylor fees for a boat ride. All commercial activities conducted from State small boat harbors, facilities, and near shore waters require a permit from the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

The Hawai‘i State Water Commission approved a mediated settlement today that will immediately restore continuous flows in the Waimea River, as well as provide the opportunity for a renewable energy project, water for Hawaiian homesteading, and farming.

After wildlife biologists and veterinarians relocated a 10-month-old Hawaiian monk seal on March 30th from the Lihi Canal in Kapa‘a, to a beach on the island’s west side they’d hoped she would stay away from the canal. Two days ago the seal, identified as RH92, returned to the canal along with an adult seal (RK13). Together they’ve been seen feeding on small fish in the manmade waterway along with discarded fish parts. The return of RH92 to Lihi is prompting stepped-up public awareness and outreach and potentially enforcement of littering laws for fishermen who dispose of fish parts in the water.

Today, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, The Coca-Cola Company and the Ko’olau Mountains Watershed Partnership announced plans for a new replenishment project designed to help restore and recharge the Waiawa watershed which supplies the majority of O’ahu’s drinking water

Today, the Department of Land and Natural Resources delivered the Closing Report for the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress (Congress) to the Hawaii State Legislature. This follows closing of the accounting for the State’s hosting of the Congress as of March 31, 2017

Ka Iwi Coast Mauka Lands - a culturally important and spectacular scenic coastline located in east O'ahu that has been threatened with development for decades - will be preserved in perpetuity in its natural state. The announcement, made today by the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawai'i, Ka Iwi Coalition, Livable Hawai'i Kai Hui and The Trust for Public Land, ends a 40-year-long struggle to protect this beloved landscape

Officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) joined with county and federal partners on this past Saturday to monitor the spring break “flotilla” occurring at Waikiki beach.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources will be holding a summer series of community “talk story” outreach events on Kauai to help local residents and visitors learn about, and understand the Garden Island’s natural and cultural resources, cultural protocol, and regulatory aspects.