News Releases

(HONOLULU) –Conservation hui throughout the state will host events this month to share information and encourage the planting and protection of ʻōhiʻa lehua, a keystone species of our native forests and State Endemic Tree of Hawaiʽi.

(HONOLULU) – Firefighters from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) continue providing support for the Honolulu Fire Dept. (HFD), and military firefighters trying to bring the Mililani Mauka Fire under control.

(HONOLULU) – Arbor Day is November 4 and celebrations will take place across Hawaiʻi this weekend. Events sponsored by a variety of organizations will feature tree giveaways, educational booths, cultural activities, and workshops.

(KOKE‘E-WAIMEA CANYON STATE PARK, KAUA‘I) – A dozen researchers and technicians on Thursday began releasing incompatible male mosquitoes to try and stop the near-certain extinction of at least four species of Native Hawaiian honeycreepers. A first for Hawai‘i, the release took place just off a road on the Alaka‘i Plateau on Kaua‘i. 

(HONOLULU) – The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a pilot release of ʻalalā, or Hawaiian crow, on east Maui. The draft EA is available for public comment for a 37-day period.

(HONOLULU) – The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announces the opening of the 2023-2024 Game Bird Hunting Season on Saturday, November 4, 2023. The fall game bird hunting season will run through Sunday, January 28, 2024. A valid hunting license and a game bird stamp are required for all game bird hunting on public and private lands.

(HONOLULU) On Friday, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) will consider a request from Maui County to utilize land currently under DLNR’s jurisdiction as a final disposition site for disposal of fire debris from the August 8 wildfires.  The County of Maui’s current landfill in central Maui is 25 miles away from Lāhainā. The site suggested from the Solid Waste Division of the Maui County Department of Environmental Management, next to the closed Olowalu Landfill, is within five miles of the impact zone.  

(Kailua-Kona) – A lottery next month will be conducted to determine four applicants eligible to receive a Kahalu‘u Bay ocean waters commercial use permit for surf school operations. After the maximum number of permits is reached, the lottery will continue and remaining participants will be placed on a waitlist in the order of lottery selection, in case another applicant drops out. The four permitted commercial operators in Zone A of the bay can have no more than four students in the water, regardless of the number of instructors in the ocean. Zone A is the only part of Kahalu‘u Bay where commercial surf instruction is allowed.

(OLOWALU, MAUI) – From the banks of Ukumehame Stream, looking to the top of the West Maui Mountains, you’d imagine you’re taking in a view of the desert Southwest. The barren landscape provides a dramatic example of how climate change and drought are impacting lands and how limited water resources are allocated.

(ALAKOKO FISHPOND, KAUA‘I) – It was an impressive sight. People of all ages, in a half-mile long line, each placing rock after rock on an ancient wall that protects the Alakoko fishpond, just outside Līhu‘e.  Organized by the non-profit Mālama Hulē'ia as the organizations five-year anniversary workday, it appears the ambitious goal to have 2,000 volunteers helping today was realized.