Department of Land and Natural Resources

(Honolulu) - One of the species of fungus causing Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) was recently detected for the first time on O`ahu. A team of natural resource managers from the O`ahu Invasive Species Committee (OISC) and the Ko’olau Mountain Watershed Partnership (KMWP) recently sampled a dead ʻōhiʻa tree on private land in a remote area in the Ko’olau Mountains above Pearl City.

(Honolulu) – During its July meeting the Hawai’i Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission (Climate Commission) and in advance of several tropical storms headed toward the state, the following new strategy was added to its five-point statement on sea level rise adaptation. The Climate Commission recognizes that disasters threaten resiliency.

(Honolulu) – When DLNR Chair Suzanne Case was alerted by the O‘ahu Invasive Species Committee (OISC) of their desire to do a miconia survey of her property, she readily agreed. Good news – no Miconia (an invasive, noxious weed), Bad news – naio thrips had infested an 18-year-old naio shrub.

(Honolulu)-The Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Working Group, formed to respond to a new disease threatening Hawai‘i’s most important native forest tree, recently received the Conservation Innovation award at the 2019 Hawaii Conservation Conference. The working group is made up of nearly 200 individuals representing state, county, federal, university, non-profit organizations, local and private businesses, as well as private citizens. The purpose of the Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Working Group is to facilitate inclusive communication on all issues related to the fungal disease and share knowledge on a regular basis among group members, their organizations, and the people of Hawai’i.

(Maunakea Access Road) – Lino Kamakau is a 33-year veteran of the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE). He’s camera-shy, likely because he’s a product of Hawai‘i Island, a Native Hawaiian, and during the current stand-off between protesters objecting to the TMT project, the ideal man to dialog with protest leaders. This is not a role he ever expected, nor one he particularly signed up for.  “You see what you get,” said Kamakau who is the DOCARE Hawai‘i Island Branch Chief. “I don’t speak with a forked tongue. There are times I can’t tell the protesters everything I know, but I try to be completely honest with them.”

(Honolulu) – Are you a private landowner interested in protecting and managing your forest lands and leaving a long-term legacy for your family and the people of Hawaii? The Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is seeking new projects for a federally-funded forest acquisition programs: The Hawaiʻi Forest Legacy Program.

(Honolulu) – In an effort to protect public safety and provide security and safety for the movement of heavy construction equipment associated with the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Hawai‘i Island’s Mauna Kea, DLNR Chair Suzanne Case has ordered the temporary closure for hunting of hunting units A, K, and G in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and Natural Area Reserve for hunting, effective July 15, 2019.

(Honolulu) – The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is issuing a Request for Interest (RFI) seeking partners and innovative projects for two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service competitive natural resource grant programs: Wildland-Urban Interface and Landscape Scale Restoration grants.

(Lihu’e) — The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will open this year’s season for plum harvesting at Kōkeʻe State Park, Kaua‘i on Thursday July 4. This year’s plum crop happens to be poor.

(Kahului, Maui) - Ceratocystis huliohia, the less aggressive strain of the fungal disease called Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death was recently detected in a single tree on private property in East Maui. The lone ʻōhiʻa tree, 15-20 feet tall and eight-to-ten inches in diameter is located a few feet from a taro loi.