Department of Land and Natural Resources

HONOLULU -- The existing path and stairway to the Waianapanapa State Park black sand beach and bay will be closed for about 3 weeks, beginning on Monday, November 7, 2016, as a part of the DLNR Division of State Parks’ ongoing capital improvement project on the pedestrian pathways throughout the park. Pailoa Beach will not be accessible during the construction of a new concrete pathway with steps at that location.

(HONOLULU) – They’re fast and stable; and given Hawai‘i’s frequently rough waters, the two new Sea Blade 23 law enforcement vessels acquired the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), fit the bill. Today one of the 23-foot long, aluminum, center-control console boats, the Malama Kai II, was blessed during a ceremony at the Keehi Small Boat Harbor. It will be based on Oahu and used by DOCARE’s Marine Enforcement Unit. The other vessel has been in service at Kona on Hawai‘i Island for several months and will be blessed at a later date. Officers are using it there to enforce rules associated with swimming with dolphins and other marine animals, as well as for general law enforcement purposes.

(Click on image to watch video) Extraordinary Endangered Seabirds & Extraordinary Steps to Save Them   Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project Pacific Rim Conservation DLNR/Division of Forestry & Wildlife DLNR/Natural ...
Read More 10/29/16 – Extraordinary Endangered Seabirds & Extraordinary Steps to Save Them

(Wailuku, Maui) - When a slow moving thunderstorm dropped an enormous amount of rain on Maui Sept. 13-14, the Wailuku River and several of its tributaries escaped their banks and not only significantly widened the river bed, but caused hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage in ‘Iao Valley State Monument. The popular and iconic Monument, part of the DLNR Division of State Parks system, has been closed since what is considered a 100-year flood event.

(Wai‘anae) – Some 150 residents of a large homeless encampment on DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) land on the Wai‘anae Coast met with a variety of providers on Friday, in the first state-sponsored Community Resource Fair. More than a dozen service providers tallied 467 visits, from homeless people, looking for help with housing, employment, and basic needs.

WAILUKU, MAUI -- 'Iao Valley State Monument, Maui, will remain closed indefinitely due to extensive damage from heavy rain and flooding the night of September 13 and early morning on September 14, 2016. Notice of the park closure is posted at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/

(HONOLULU) – “Clearly Hawai‘i’s commitments to conservation and sustainability are aligned with the world’s priorities and with the strategic issues of importance to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” observed Governor David Ige, on this last day of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Hawai‘i 2016. Thousands of delegates and members from 192 member countries spent the last ten days in Hawai‘i at the planet’s most important and high-level conservation gathering. Governor Ige deemed it a tremendous success and thanked the countless state and federal agencies, elected officials, conservation organizations, and volunteers who consistently spread the message: “What is clear now, more than ever before, is that we are in this together – one canoe navigating Island Earth.”

(Honolulu) – A series of aerial surveys of six Hawaiian Islands reveals that the fungal disease, known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death has impacted nearly 50,000 acres of native forest on the Big Island of Hawai‘i. That’s an increase of some 13,000 acres from surveys done earlier in 2016. “It’s important to note that the aerial surveys still need verification by conducting ground-truthing and lab tests,” said Philipp Lahaela Walter, State Resource & Survey Forester for the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). While some of the increase is due to expanding the survey area, much of it is due to new tree mortality.

(Honolulu) -- Following severe coral bleaching events in 2014 and 2015 within Hawai‘i’s ocean waters, the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) has been working to identify management actions that can be taken to promote post-coral bleaching recovery and resiliency in Hawai‘i’s coral reefs.

HONOLULU -- Hawai‘i is at an invasive species crossroads: the islands are home to more endangered species than any other state. Between 80-90% of all food is imported, and there are more than 8 million visitors annually, with hundreds of arriving flights and ships carrying cargo.