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Hawai’i’s small boat harbors, under the jurisdiction of the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), serve as the ocean gateways for thousands of kamaʿāina and visitors every year. In addition to maintaining 2,000 berths statewide and registering some 12,000 boats, DOBOR and its small boat harbors are used for a large variety of purposes. Boating, obviously, but also snorkeling, diving, touring, fishing and kayaking are among the frequent uses of our sixteen small boat harbors. All of these harbors and their ramps, piers, moorages, wash downs, comfort stations and parking lots require constant maintenance. While many boaters and commercial operators pay fees, any private boat owner can acquire an annual launch ramp decal for $50. These harbors also serve literally, as “safe harbors” during storms. These facilities are constantly exposed to the corrosive effects of salt air and salt water. This means, in addition to regular maintenance, the frequency in which you have to replace structures is greatly accelerated.

If you drive a car, fly in a plane, use air-conditioning to cool your home, or engage in other activity powered by fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gas, you may soon have new ways to offset your emissions locally, by supporting Hawaiian forest restoration.

(HONOLULU) – When 7-year-old Malia Rillamas first spotted the bird, she pointed it out to her dad Jonathan. The family, from Haleiwa, pulled off the country road on O‘ahu’s north shore on the afternoon of Jan. 15, 2017 to see if they could help. A short time later Brian Smith of Wahiawa also pulled over. Together the trio watched as the pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl), hopped across the road and ultimately into a deep roadside ditch. They discussed what to do and who to call and eventually called 9-1-1 which put them in touch with the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE).

Watch "The Endangered Forest Birds of Hawaii," to learn about extraordinary efforts underway to save rare, endemic birds from extinction.

It’s the only Natural Area Reserve in Hawai‘i where the ocean and water activities are the primary draw for visitors and residents. The Ahihi-Kina’u Natural Area Reserve has one mile of open coastline and attracts hundreds of people every day to surf, snorkel, or simply to enjoy the clear waters of the Reserve. It’s part of a vast ocean playground on Maui’s south shore, with the corridor managed and maintained by a variety of county and state agencies. This means there are different rules and guidelines for each locale. Fishing might be allowed in one place but not another. One area may be closed, another is open. Dogs are allowed here, but not there.

(Honolulu) – The latest DLNR & You television special, The Endangered Forest Birds of Hawai‘i, documents the efforts of dozens of organizations and hundreds of people across the state to halt the extinction of critically endangered forest birds.

(Lihue, Kaua‘i) – Two of three baby Nene photographed grazing in lush grass alongside the Hanalei River last month were killed by cars as they attempted to cross a highway. Video shot by DLNR and distributed to media across the state on Dec. 28, 2016, showed a family of Nene; mother, father and their three goslings resting and eating on the stream’s bank underneath the Hanalei Bridge. The deaths of the two goslings happened last week.

KAILUA-KONA, HAWAI‘I -- A capital improvement project for the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor mauka boat ramp is scheduled to begin on January 30, 2017, that will include the removal of both concrete loading docks and installation of new loading docks with new plastic lumber fendering and cleats. The project has been contracted to Isemoto Contracting and will cost $562,700.

(Honolulu) -The Department of Land and Natural Resources will hold an informational meeting on sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation on Kaua‘i, Monday, January 09, 2017. This meeting is one of a series of public informational meetings being held state wide in an effort to educate people about the impacts of sea level rise and to gather comments and input about key issues and concerns regarding preparedness and adaptation. The first meeting was held on Oahu last June.

(Kaiwi State Scenic Shoreline, O‘ahu) – Beginning nearly two hours before the first sunrise of the New Year, hundreds of hikers of all ages, made the one-mile ascent to the Makapu‘u Lookout in the Kaiwi State Scenic Shoreline, a unit of the DLNR Division of State Parks.