In celebration of Arbor Day in Hawaii on November 4, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) invites native plant enthusiasts to plant sales and giveaways happening across the state this weekend. DOFAW plant nurseries on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi island will be offering a variety of native plants to encourage their use in home gardening and landscaping.
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The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), O‘ahu Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) and the Moanalua Gardens Foundation (MGF), in conjunction with Community Planning & Engineering, Inc. (CPE) have begun road repairs to the Kamananui Valley Road in Moanalua Valley. Kamananui Valley Road and the popular Kulana‘ahane hiking trail will remain open during regular trail hours; however, some phases of the project will require periodic, full-valley closures.
In the early 1800’s Queen Ka‘ahumanu visited Hanauma Bay, considered one of O‘ahu’s crown jewels over the decades. In modern times more than one million people each year, from all over the world, visit the bay to take in its vast marine and coral life. They snorkel, dive, spend time tanning on the beach, and otherwise enjoy the bay’s natural beauty. Before going into the water, they are educated about the living reef environment and safety practices to help ensure their continued enjoyment of the bay. The State, through the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL); the City and County of Honolulu, through the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services; the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant Program, and the non-profit Friends of Hanauma Bay (the Friends) work together to protect the bay’s unique underwater resources and best ensure the health of fish, corals, marine mammals, and visitors of the bay.
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.
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.
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.
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.