**IMPORTANT PARK NOTICES**
Monitor local surf and weather reports prior to your park visit.
•
[OʻAHU] UPDATED 12/19/24 – Kaʻena Point State Park, Keawaʻula Section: Park CLOSED due to anticipated large surf on 12/20/24 through the weekend.
•
[OʻAHU] UPDATED 12/16/24 – Diamond Head State Monument: Beginning January 6, 2025 to July 25, 2025, or upon completion of construction project, the park will close at 2:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, (excluding weekends and holidays) due to a construction project. The last reservation time slot for Parking and Entry and Entry Only during this time will be 12:00 p.m. If you reserved at 12:00 p.m., you must enter the Park no later than 12:30 p.m. or you will be denied entry. Please check back for updates.
•
[MAUI] UPDATED 12/16/24 – Mākena State Park - Invitation For Bid For Sealed Bid Proposal To Provide A mobile Food Truck Concession At Mākena State Park on Maui. Any party that may be interested in providing a bid may inspect the concession premises by calling DSP at (808) 587-0505 or contact DLNR-Division of State Parks Property Manager, Ms. E. Keiki Kipapa, by email to [email protected] Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM Hawaii Standard Time (HST) except Federal and State Holidays. See Full IFB: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/files/2024/12/SPM25-010A.pdf
•
[OʻAHU] UPDATED 11/4/24 – Kaʻena Point State Park, Mokuleʻia Section: The 2024 Kaʻena Point permit and decal is being extended through 2025. You do not need to apply for a new permit now, you will be notified when applications open next year. Take good care of your decal, we cannot replace decals. Please remember to take rubbish bags home, do not leave it a the trash bins.
•
[KAUAʻI] UPDATED 11/4/24 – Waimea Canyon State Park/Kōkeʻe State Park: Paving will take place on Waimea Canyon Road leading into Puʻu Hinahina Lookout on Wednesday, November 6 limiting vehicle access into and out of the lookout parking lot from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Pedestrian access will remain open, and vehicles can access the lookout before and after the closure.
“Kanaka Garden” in Wailoa River State Recreation Area Removed – Group Leader Cited for Three Violations
Posted on Jan 7, 20211/7/21 – (HILO) – Early this morning officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) stood watch as a crew from the DLNR Division of State Parks removed illegally planted taro and banana trees from the Wailoa River State Recreation Area.
The so-called“Kanaka Garden”was planted within the last week by a group claiming to have jurisdiction over the State land. 64-year-old Gene Tamashiro of Hilo, the group’s leader, was cited by DOCARE officers on three Hawai‘i Administrative Rules (HAR) violations that were outlined on a Cease-and-Desist Order that was delivered to him on Tuesday.
Tamashiro and several others were cited in 2013 on similar charges following an illegal planting operation at the Wailoa park. Officers also contacted two women who initially refused to leave the park, but they eventually left on their own accord. Wailoa State Recreation Area does not open until 7 a.m. each day, but a group of six or seven people were seen tending the football field-sized garden well before dawn.
State Parks supervisors estimate several hundred plants were pulled from the ground today. They were trucked to the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo School of Tropical Agriculture where
viable plants will be returned to the ground. Crews will return to the park later today to assess any damage, which could lead to additional civil penalties against the people who planted the garden. State Parks workers will also need to return in the coming days to cover holes created during the planting.
DOCARE officers also removed a “Kanaka Garden” sign that detailed the groups claims of ownership of the property as well as several flags that had been erected at the park’s main entrance. Several occupiers stood with flags in hand as trucks carrying the plants away, passed them. A couple of tents that had been put up earlier in the week were previously taken down by their owners. Officers from the Hawai‘i Police Department and the Dept. of Public Safety Sheriff Division provided support for the operation.
Tamashiro will be required to appear in Hilo District Court on February 19 to answer charges of leaving abandoned property on public lands; unauthorized use of State lands for agriculture use; and introducing plants onto public property.
Kanaka Garden Removed, Jan. 7, 2021 from Hawaii DLNR on Vimeo.
Previous Article – 1/5/21 – A group of people who have illegally taken over a portion of Wailoa River State Recreation Area were notified this morning to cease and desist by 5pm tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan. 6).
Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) taped one order on a sign the group had put up at the park’s entrance. Another was presented to the group’s leader and another was posted in a small encampment.
The group has planted between 50 and 60 taro plants and banana trees across a football-sized field in the popular and widely used State park. The participants are claiming jurisdiction over the park. They don’t have any permits for planting or for erecting signs at Wailoa.
Today a man sat at the park’s entrance drumming. Another person was mowing grass around the fresh plantings.
Eight years ago, the man leading the group was cited after similar illegal activities at Wailoa. DOCARE is working closely with the DLNR Division of State Parks to return the area to public usage.
DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla said, “No matter their professed claims of ownership, this recreation area and all other State Parks belong to all of Hawai‘i for the enjoyment by residents and visitors. Park users have expressed concerns that members of this group are ignoring County and State mandates to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Today about a dozen people appeared to be part of the group. Last weekend, media reports indicate the number had swelled to 75 or more.
The Cease and Desist order requires the group to remove tents and other camping gear or the materials will be considered abandoned property.
Wailoa River State Recreation Area Cease & Desist, Jan. 5, 2021 from Hawaii DLNR on Vimeo.
