Department of Land and Natural Resources

A one-year pilot project using canine teams to non-lethally haze Nēnē away from the Līhu`e Airport and Hōkūala Timbers Resort area was introduced at a news conference in Lihue on Tuesday. The new canine teams are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Service’s Hawai’i program and a collaboration partnership with the resort, Department of Land and Natural Resources as well as the Department of Transportation’s Airports Division.

(Waimea)-The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and Hawaii Island Senator Lorraine Inouye are jointly hosting an informational meeting to provide an update on the North Kohala Agricultural Water Study. The meeting will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M. on Friday, August 30, 2019 at the Kohala Village Hub, located at 55-514 Hawi Road, in Hāwī, North Kohala, Hawaii.

(Lihue) – The population of Pacific Rats on tiny Lehua Island, off Kaua‘i’s west coast remains extremely low, two years after three applications of a rodenticide to clear them out of the State Seabird Sanctuary.

(Honolulu) – If you’ve sold or bought property or if you work in the real estate or title business, you’re familiar with the huge volume of legal documents required for property transactions. The Bureau of Conveyances has just awarded a $1.3 million-dollar contract to West Central Indexing to implement a highly specialized Land Records Management System to increase accuracy and improve efficiencies in recording these documents. 

(Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park) - Thousands of black-chin tilapia have invaded near-shore waters in the Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park on Kaua‘i. Fishermen first reported seeing large schools of mostly juvenile tilapia over the past two weeks.  Yesterday a team from the DLNR Divisions of Aquatic Resources (DAR) and Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) conducted in-water surveys at the Nu‘alolo Kai section of the park and confirmed the reports.

(Lihu‘e) --   Last spring, the Wailua Management Road (aka.Loop Road), which leads to the Blue Hole in the Wailua area experienced severe damage due to heavy rains, falling trees and landslides. The conditions continue to deteriorate and are posing a public safety hazard.

(Kahului) – In July, one of two species of fungus causing Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) was detected for the first time on Maui, in the Hāna region.  The response was quick, and the tree, which was in an ornamental setting, was destroyed.  However, surveys for the disease are ongoing.

(Honolulu) - This week, homeowners on O‘ahu’s northshore are conducting beach maintenance (sand pushing) to temporarily restore a beach berm adjacent to their properties. The DLNR coordinated authorization for the temporary erosion control effort to take place seaward of 20 properties at Pūpūkea Beach Park.

(Honolulu) – State hunting units A, K, and G, in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and Natural Area Reserve, closed since July 15th will reopen today. The units were closed to protect public safety and provide security for the safe movement of heavy construction equipment associated with the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

(Kailua-Kona) – Dramatic photographs of two oceanic whitetip sharks, lacking fins, along with photographs of a dead, three-and-a-half-foot long whitetip reef shark is raising concern among marine biologists on Hawai‘i Island.