(Hilo) – Staff with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Natural Area Reserve (NAR) System are excited about a recent find. In late October they discovered an endangered Hawaiian Petrel (‘ua‘u) burrow and a baby chick inside in the Pu‘u O Umi NAR on Kohala Mountain on Hawai‘i Island. This provides the first documentation of a new ‘ua‘u colony endemic to the Kohala district.
(Hilo) – Aquatic Biologist Troy Sakihara is dealing with tilapia a lot these days. After he was featured in news reports about an invasion of Nile tilapia in the Wailoa and Waiakea waterways on Hawai‘i Island, a local man brought his recently deceased tilapia to Sakihara. It was a whopper, to say the least. Weighing in at a hefty 16 pounds and 62 centimeters long, Sakihara says it’s the biggest of this species of fish he’s ever encountered.
(Honolulu) – Last year, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) acquired more than 2,800 acres of forest land and former agricultural lands in the Helemano area of Central Oʻahu. This area is now in the process of being placed in the State’s Forest Reserve System and DOFAW has begun developing a plan for the Helemano Wilderness Area with the assistance of local planning firm Planning Solutions, Inc. (PSI).
(Pohoiki, Hawai‘i Island) – An enormous and ever-growing black sand beach is not the only new feature at Pohoiki, the site of a former boat ramp, rendered obsolete after being surrounded by lava. Biologists from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) have noted at least seven anchialine pools dotting the Pohoiki landscape.
(Hilo) – A free event at the Wailoa Center is being held to encourage everyone to use plastic free bottles to help the environment. In 2018, the DLNR Division of State Parks was awarded a grant to install 19 water bottle filling stations on Hawai’i Island, Maui, O’ahu and Kaua’i. The goal of the project is to reduce the number of single-use plastic water bottles that park visitors use during their visits to state parks.
(Honolulu) – An aerial survey of some 20,000 acres of forest on O‘ahu has resulted in the fourth detection of Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) in an ʻōhiʻa in the Moanalua Section of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve above Tripler Army Medical Center.
(Honolulu) – In light of continuing or planned removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the offshore waters of Mālaekahana Bay to La‘ie on O‘ahu and the Molokini Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD), off Maui’s south shore, state and federal authorities are advising people to follow the 3 Rs of UXO safety: Recognize, Retreat, Report.
(Nakula Natural Area Reserve, Maui) – In late October, thirteen critically endangered kiwikiu (Maui Parrotbill), were brought to the leeward slope of Haleakalā in the state’s Nakula Natural Area Reserve (NAR). Over the past decade more than a quarter million native trees were planted in this NAR and the adjacent Kahikinui Forest Reserve to repair decades of habitat destruction caused by overgrazing by hooved animals like goats, cows, and sheep.
(Lihu‘e-Koloa Forest Reserve, Kaua‘i) - When botanist Adam Williams put on his orange t-shirt this morning he knew he’d be rappelling. As a certified arborist with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), Williams is accustomed to climbing trees and down cliffs in search of rare plants.
(Lihu‘e) -- For the past two years the Wailua Management Road (Loop Road) in the Lihu‘e Koloa Forest Reserve has experienced severe damage and continues to pose a public safety hazard. This road leads to the Blue Hole area. Due to unforeseen circumstances, construction has not started, but that is about to change.
