Department of Land and Natural Resources

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is accepting applications for membership on the Water Security Advisory Group established in Act 172, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016. The Chairperson of DLNR will review the applications and select individuals that are deemed qualified to serve on the Water Security Advisory Group per the requirements of Act 172.

HONOLULU -- State wildfire crews from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife today continued to combat for the fourth day a wildfire that started in the back of Wai‘anae valley and spread uphill into the Wai‘anae-Kai state forest reserve.

(Hamakua Coast, Hawai’i) - From the road, in the Laupahoehoe Section of the Hilo Forest Reserve, Steve Bergfeld of the Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources spots the enormous, towering, ōhiʻa tree; its thick branches now completely without leaves. The Hawai’i Island Branch Manager for the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife wants to get a close-up look at the tree, after a technician first spotted it and took samples a week ago. Two laboratory tests have confirmed that this very old tree was killed by the fast-moving fungal infection known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death.

HILO, HAWAII -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday November 16 to receive testimony on the request of Kamehameha Schools for a 50-year Incidental Take License (ITL) from the Board of Land and Natural Resources for a Safe Harbor Agreement (SHA) for a 32,280-acre property located near Volcano Village on the island of Hawai‘i.

HONOLULU -- The State Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) will hold a public hearing to receive public testimony on the North Shore Watershed Management Plan, on Thursday, November 17, 2016.

KAHULUI – Visitors to the ‘Ahihi-Kina‘u Natural Area Reserve and Keone‘oi‘o (La Perouse Bay) area are advised that renovation of the Kanahena parking area is expected to create limited parking and traffic delays from Monday, November 14 to January 15, 2017. The project involves improving the parking area surface and drainage with concrete paving at the current location which is away from the ocean. The paved surface will help prevent pollutants from vehicles from entering the surrounding environment.

(Honolulu) - Kalauao valley has a long history of providing for the people of Hawai‘i. Historically, the valley was used to gather plants and herbs used for healing practices at Keaīwa Heiau. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) recently purchased 635 acres in Kalauao Valley from Bishop Museum. Funding for the acquisition was provided by the State’s Legacy Land Conservation Program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Recovery Land Acquisition Program.

HONOLULU -- The existing path and stairway to the Waianapanapa State Park black sand beach and bay will be closed for about 3 weeks, beginning on Monday, November 7, 2016, as a part of the DLNR Division of State Parks’ ongoing capital improvement project on the pedestrian pathways throughout the park. Pailoa Beach will not be accessible during the construction of a new concrete pathway with steps at that location.

(Honolulu) – The State Bureau of Conveyances, one of the divisions of the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, is now in the second phase of a four-phase project to convert more than 170 years of vital state records into permanent, digital format. The Hawai‘i Bureau of Conveyances is the only single statewide recording office in the country. It examines, records, and indexes more than 344,000 land and property documents and maps each year and it issues Land Court Certificates of Title and certifies copies of matters of record. On a daily basis, the Bureau of Conveyances inputs 1,100-1,500 documents and its documents date back to 1845.

(HONOLULU) – They’re fast and stable; and given Hawai‘i’s frequently rough waters, the two new Sea Blade 23 law enforcement vessels acquired the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), fit the bill. Today one of the 23-foot long, aluminum, center-control console boats, the Malama Kai II, was blessed during a ceremony at the Keehi Small Boat Harbor. It will be based on Oahu and used by DOCARE’s Marine Enforcement Unit. The other vessel has been in service at Kona on Hawai‘i Island for several months and will be blessed at a later date. Officers are using it there to enforce rules associated with swimming with dolphins and other marine animals, as well as for general law enforcement purposes.