News Releases

HONOLULU -- Following the recommendation of Hawaii County Ocean Safety personnel, the DLNR Division of State Parks is closing the Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area beach area at 12:00 p.m. today. Large waves are scheduled to reach this area by mid-afternoon, but wave models show a significant ground swell system, thus the closure before the actual arrival of the waves. The park will remain open, and visitors will be notified of the beach closure as they enter. If the waves get too large or if crowd control becomes a problem, The Division of State Parks reserves the option of closing the entire park.

Following the recommendation of Hawaii County Ocean Safety personnel, the DLNR Division of State Parks is closing the Hapuna Beach State Recreation Area beach area at 12:00 pm today. Large waves are scheduled to reach this area, mid-afternoon, but wave models show a significant ground swell system thus the closure before the actual arrival of the waves. The park will remain open, and visitors will be notified of the beach closure as they enter. If the waves get too large or if crowd control becomes a problem, The Division of State Parks reserves the option of closing the entire park.

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of State Parks has closed the Keawaula beach section of Kaena Point State Park on Oahu’s leeward coast, effective immediately and overnight to tomorrow, until high surf subsides and lifeguards issue an all-clear.

LIHU‘E, KAUA‘I -- Traditional and non-traditional educators are invited to join the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Saturday, January 31, 2015 for a Project Learning Tree Pre-K to 8 workshop on Kaua‘i.

(Honolulu) – The grounding of the sailing vessel Hawaii Aloha off Hualalai on the Big Island’s Kona Coast on Jan. 3, 2015 caused limited resource damage. This is the determination of a team from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) that conducted an in-water assessment of the area offshore of the grounding on Jan. 13.

HONOLULU – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the State of Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources is a recipient of more than $467,000 as part of a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The program’s focus on public-private partnerships enables private companies, land owners, local communities and other non-government partners to keep lands resilient, water clean and promote economic growth in a variety of industries.

HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and several of its divisions responded to reports of at least six vessels adrift or grounded, as a result of a short, but severe winter storm on Jan. 2 and 3.

Honolulu – Officers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), along with staff from the DLNR Division of State Parks, closed the Kua Bay section of Kekaha Kai (Kona Coast) State Park today after an unidentified object was found in the water.

Honolulu – Sunrise on this first day of 2015 was foiled by heavy cloud cover, but an estimated 500 early morning hikers still made the one and a half mile trek to the Makapu’u Lookout in Kaiwi State Park in East Oahu, as part of the annual First Day Hike.

KAILUA-KONA – The Department of Land and Natural Resources is reminding the public that West Hawaii state parks will close early at 5 p.m. Dec. 31, 2014, New Year’s Eve. Parks closing early include Hapuna, Kiholo and Kekaha Kai (Mahaiula and Kua Bay sections).