Department of Land and Natural Resources

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources Divisions of Aquatic Resources (DAR), State Historic Preservation (SHPD), and Engineering offices on Maui will close next week, starting Monday December 5-9, as staff move out of their current location at 130 Mahalani Street in Wailuku, and set up at a temporary location in the Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor.

LIHU‘E, KAUA‘I -- Kaua‘i landowners are invited to attend a forestry workshop on Saturday December 10, 2016, starting at 9 a.m., to learn about how they can benefit from state and federal landowner assistance programs that support forest restoration efforts.

(Honolulu) - Lead scientists in the fight against Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death on Hawaii’i Island joined Governor David Ige and other top policy makers for the first-ever Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death Summit, today at the Hawaii’i State Capital Auditorium. Speakers provided situation reports on the disease and presented the recently completed, strategic response plan which will guide the statewide response to this dire threat to Hawaii’s most iconic tree species.

HONOLULU — Spawning season is here for ‘ama‘ama (striped mullet), which puts the popular nearshore fish off-limits from December through March. “‘Ama‘ama are about to enter their peak spawning season, which increases their vulnerability to fishing pressure,” said Bruce Anderson, DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources administrator. “The annual winter closure is designed to help the fish reproduce successfully and protect the species from overfishing.”

PUNA, HAWAI‘I -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has contracted with Water Resources International, Inc. to plug and abandon two geothermal scientific wells, SOH-1 and SOH-2 located in Pahoa.

LIHU‘E -- The community is invited to attend an information meeting about the project now underway to construct a bridge for vehicles and pedestrians to cross over Keahua Stream. This location is at the end of Kuamo‘o Road, at the Keahua Arboretum in the Lihu‘e-Koloa State Forest Reserve. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 29 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Kapa‘a Middle School, 4867 Olohena Rd.

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.