Rat Sniffing Dogs Deployed To Try & Find Remaining Few Rats On Lehua; Specially Trained Border Terriers Spend Four Days Scouring the Island

Forestry & Wildlife Announcements

(Lihue) – Henry and Reese are six-year-old and three-year-old Border Terriers respectively, who spent most of last week crisscrossing the rugged, hot, wind-swept terrain of tiny Lehua Island.  Lehua is a State Seabird Sanctuary and the site of an intensive restoration project over the past nine months to protect seabirds by removing invasive rats. In 2017, the partners of the Lehua Island Restoration Project applied a conservation bait to remove the population of invasive Pacific rats which eat the chicks of nesting seabirds and devour the native plants that help support a large variety of bird life here.

HONOLULU --   A two-month project to rehabilitate two historic World War II-era structures known as the Lanikai “pillboxes” on the popular hiking trail on Ka‘iwa ridge, Kailua will finally begin on Thursday, June 21, 2018. 

(HONOLULU) – Are you a private landowner, non-profit group, or local government agency interested in protecting and managing forested lands? The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife is seeking new projects for two federally-funded forest acquisition programs:  the Community Forest Program and the Hawaiʻi Forest Legacy Program.

(HONOLULU) – A workshop for landowners and land managers interested in managing their land for forestry will be held on June 30 on O‘ahu to provide information on programs that can help them implement their forestry projects. The West O‘ahu Soil and Water Conservation District and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) have partnered with Nick Dudley, research forester, of the Hawai‘i Agriculture Research Center (HARC) to present this event. Register today to explore how agroforestry, native forest management, and small-scale high value hardwood production can optimize your land function and value. Workshop is limited to 30 attendees.

(Honolulu) – Deep in the Honouliuli Forest Reserve, high in Oah‘u’s Wai‘anae Mountains, a sophisticated monitoring station is watching Caly 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. Caly (cyanea calycina) or haha in Hawaiian, is one of less than 200 members of this species left on O‘ahu.

(HONOLULU) —  Effective June 15, 2018, the Department of Land and Natural Resources district and administrative offices will begin issuing hunting licenses and stamps for the new hunting season (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019). A valid hunting license is required for hunting on public and private lands.  All game mammal hunting is regulated by Hawai‘i Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 123, and all game bird hunting is regulated by Hawai‘i Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 122 (see https://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dofaw “Administrative Rules” for all legal hunting days).  

(HONOLULU) Do you know a school, community group or non-profit organization that cares about greening our environment? Funding is available to help get your project off the ground.  The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program announces a call for statewide grant applications with new and expanded opportunities for projects that support urban and community forestry.

(HILO) – Forestry managers on Hawai‘i island report one-third to one-half of the total acreage of the Malama Kī Forest Reserve has been impacted by the month-long East Rift Zone volcanic eruption. 

HONOLULU -- The 25 winners of the 12th annual My Hawai‘i Story Contest focused on the environment were recently announced. The students will be presented with awards and prizes at the Hawai'i Conservation Conference on July 25, 2018, at the Hawai'i Convention Center in Honolulu.

LIHU‘E --  The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is reminding residents and visitors to Kaua‘i that certain forest and park areas on Kaua‘i which suffered damage during historic flooding in mid-April remain closed.