Department of Land and Natural Resources

DLNR is issuing this statement in the Kaʿena Point albatross killings, expressing concern over the plea bargain of Christian Guiterrez, 19, the adult accused of participating in these crimes.

A new quarterly newsletter for hunters has been launched this month by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). "Go Hunt Hawai‘i," is designed to help improve communication between the hunting community, other interested parties and resource managers

A new study provides the first rigorous population estimate of an enigmatic endangered bird species found only on Kauai, the Puaiohi or Small Kauai Thrush: 494 birds. Scientists have long believed that the species was very rare, but it had heretofore eluded a precise count due to its secretive demeanor and the rugged, inaccessible terrain it inhabits deep in Kauai’s Alakai Plateau.

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources are working together to try and understand what led to the death of an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, tagged as RB18.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will be holding its third public information meeting on sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation on Thursday, March 23, 2017. The meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Planning Conference rooms located in the Kalana Pāku‘i building at 250 S. High Street, room 200, in Wailuku, Maui.

A community volunteer project to clean and beautify a significant Hawaiian cultural site in central Maui was accomplished last weekend, thanks to efforts of an Eagle Scout, members of a local church and others.

Governor David Ige proclaimed the 5th annual Hawaii Invasive Species Awareness Week (HISAW) at a ceremony Friday that included agency leaders, legislators, industry champions, and citizens who help project Hawaii from the impacts of invasive species. The Governor presented the proclamation to members of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC), the interagency board responsible for policy direction and cross-sector coordination on invasive species issues. Addressing invasive species is a critical component of this administration's vision for Hawaii's future, as described in the recent Hawaii Interagency Biosecurity Plan and the Sustainable Hawaii Initiative.

Local and national non-profit and non-governmental organizations are offering $50,000 for information about the killings of five Hawaiian seals, with the February suspicious death of seal R4DP near ‘Ele‘ele on Kaua‘i making the matter even more urgent. Since 2011, these groups have offered $10,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people involved in the killing of Hawaiian monk seals.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife would like to thank all wildlife artists that submitted amazing art entries for the 2017-18 Hawaii Wildlife Conservation and Game Bird Stamp Art Contest. A committee reviewed all submissions and two winners were chosen last month.

An oft-spotted, fifteen-year-old endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal, known as R4DP was found dead on a beach near ʻEleʻele on February 23, 2017. Officers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) and from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) are investigating the female seal’s death as suspicious, as it had injuries “inconsistent with any natural cause of death associated with wild monk seals.”