Department of Land and Natural Resources

The mediated settlement, approved by the Hawai‘i State Water Commission in April, to immediately restore continuous flows in West Kaua‘i’s Waimea River, is the subject of a video mini-documentary produced by the DLNR.

The public is invited to provide input on the future of State lands at Honolua Bay and Lipoa Point at a community open house on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. The State of Hawai‘i acquired these lands in 2014, following a tremendous effort by the community, guided by the Save Honolua Coalition, the State’s political leaders and others to prevent development of the agricultural lands surrounding Honolua Bay.

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.

Want to better understand the Hā‘ena Community-Based Subsistence Fishery Area (CBSFA) and rules, and how Department of Land and Natural Resources and Hui Maka‘āinana o Makana are working towards co-management? Come down and join us for a fun-filled afternoon on Sunday, October 22 from 12 to 3 p.m. at Camp Naue YMCA, 7420 Kūhiō Highway in Hā‘ena.

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.

‘Iao Valley State Monument will be closed beginning Monday, October 16, 2017 for an estimated two months. The Department of Land and Natural Resources will be completing the second phase of slope stabilization to the areas in the park that were damaged by a massive flood event in September 2016. Officials anticipate the park will reopen by December 16, 2017, or sooner if conditions permit.

The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) at its regularly scheduled meeting today reviewed a proposed administrative enforcement action against Kona resident Sean Pagett for organizing unpermitted fitness swimming events in Kailua Bay. The Board voted to dismiss the fine upon receiving assurances from Pagett’s counsel, former Hawaii mayor William Kenoi that Pagett will apply for a DOBOR permit, including obtaining required insurance coverage, for all future marine events he plans. The Board also voted to confirm that DOBOR rules do authorize the boating division, acting in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard, to require and issue permits for marine events, including swim races.

This morning NOAA Fisheries, the U.S Coast Guard, Kauai County Fire and Police Departments and the DLNR Divisions of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) joined concerned community members and native Hawaiian cultural practitioners to respond to a beaching event and attending to two Pilot whales that died on Kalapaki Beach on the north side of Nawiliwili Harbor.