(MOLOKA’I) – Forests on the southern slopes of Moloka‘i are about to receive additional protections from threats like wildfires, erosion, and flooding thanks to a new award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The foundation has awarded over $1.8 million to the DLNR to address threats using proven tools such as fencing and removing hooved animals, as well as creating firebreaks.
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(Kailua-Kona) – On November 6, 2020 DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) staff on Hawai’i Island responded to a report of numerous live coral fragments scattered below the base of a popular manta dive site mooring at Makakō Bay (Garden Eel Cove) in North Kona. DAR Kona staff documented numerous broken coral colonies along the mooring line and approximately 150 broken coral fragments in the sand at the base of the mooring. The definitive cause of the damage could not be determined and likely occurred more than two weeks prior to the report.
(Wailuku) – The DLNR Division of State Parks reopened ʻIao Valley State Monument November 21 on Maui. The scenic park had been closed during most of the COVID-19 period due to crowding concerns and budgetary constraints. ʻIao Valley, one of the most visited parks on Maui, contains a short hiking path and iconic views of Kuka‘emoku, popularly known as the ʻIao Needle. Visitors are reminded to adhere to social distancing rules and wear protective masks when visiting the often-crowded park. The new hours will be 7am-6pm, daily.
(Mākena State Park, Maui) – It’s become a Sunday night tradition that regulars on Maui fiercely defend. Every week, for years, hundreds of people gather at Little Beach (Puʻu Ōlaʻi) to view the week’s first sunset. Long-time participants claim it’s a spiritual gathering. There’s a drum circle and dancing. Drummer George Chyz claimed that drumming is rooted in culture and this is a way for people to show their respect.
(HILO) – In a steady rain you hear the chorus of native Hawaiian birds. Jackson Bauer, with the DLNR Na Ala Hele Trails and Access Program, identifies the sing-song chirp of the ‘ōma’o and then the ‘elepaio, calling its own name. Such are the sounds of the native forest along the new Kaulana Manu Nature Trail on Hawai‘i island. Add in the natural beauty of ‘ōhi‘a and koa trees, and an intact profusion of native plants, shrubs and insects -- one even known as the happy-face spider -- and it lives up to its billing as a nature lovers paradise.
(Makena State Park, Maui) – A team of eight officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) conducted a law enforcement operation this evening at Little Beach in Makena State Park on Maui.
(LIHU‘E)— To reduce the risk of fires in the Pu‘u Ka Pele Forest Reserve on Kaua‘i, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife ( DOFAW) is proposing forest thinning and fire break maintenance. Community members are invited to provide input on the proposed efforts via a virtual public meeting. This meeting will be at 9:00am on December 1, 2020. In addition to gathering people’s input, this meeting is intended to address questions or concerns regarding this project.
(Honolulu) – A roughly 1,260-acre parcel in Waiea, on Hawai‘i island is being proposed as an addition to the Hawai‘i Natural Area Reserve (NAR) System. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will hold a virtual hearing at 6:00 p.m. on November 30, 2020 to receive community testimony about this proposal. The area is contiguous to other land parcels that are under management for forest, wildlife, and water conservation, and its addition would strengthen native ecosystem protection in the South Kona area.
(Honolulu) – While organizers always hope for more people to participate, experience has shown that the first meeting of community members, experts, and researchers, to discuss wildfire, always leads to good things.
(HONOLULU)–Hidden behind a thick barrier of kiawe trees, on beaches facing the airport, dozens of homeless people set up their tents and hand-fashioned homes. They are doing this on state-owned land at the Sand Island State Recreation Area SRA). Scattered across the beach and near the trees are personal belongings, the frames, wheels and components of many bicycles, mopeds, cooking & eating utensils, bottles and cans…pretty much everything one would associate with living off the land.