Department of Land and Natural Resources

HONOLULU – Due to the complex nature of the road repaving work and some weather delays in construction, the DLNR Division of State Parks is modifying the closure dates for the Makapu‘u Lighthouse Trail in Kaiwi State Scenic Shoreline.

(HILO) - 19 officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), with support from four Hawaii Police Department officers and a ranger with the Office of Mauna Kea Management, conducted a third law enforcement operation in the restricted area covered by the 120 day emergency rule, passed in June by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

HONOLULU -- The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of State Parks will close its campgrounds at the Kalanai (southern) section of Malaekahana State Recreation Area for approximately one month beginning September 20, 2015 for tree trimming and other needed maintenance.

The Dept. of Land and Natural Resources reached an understanding with protesters on Mauna Kea to remove a large tent across from the Mauna Kea Visitors Center. Yesterday officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) posted the tent as an illegal structure. Today in discussions with DLNR leadership, a protest leader agreed to remove the tent and to “lighten their presence” on the mountain. DOCARE officers will continue to monitor for the removal of illegal structures on the mountain.

(LEHUA ISLAND) – “100% success,” is how a researcher with Island Conservation describes this week’s non-lethal bait experiment on this small island, 17 miles west of Kauai, just off the northern tip of Niihau. State, federal, and non-profit partners conducted helicopter application of bait that is non-toxic, which they hope will ultimately lead to the use of rodent bait to eliminate Lehua’s rat population. Invasive rats are the primary predator of three federally-listed and/or endangered and threatened candidate seabird species that could establish breeding colonies on Lehua. Newell’s shearwaters, Hawaiian petrel, and the Band-rumped storm petrel may have been nesting there prior to the introduction of rats and rabbits. Rabbits have been eradicated from the island.

HONOLULU - The Department of Land and Natural Resources will keep closed its coastal and low-lying state parks and forest areas (including wildlife sanctuaries, natural area reserves and game management areas) on all islands on Thursday morning until staff are able to monitor adjacent ocean conditions for safety before reopening them.

(HONOLULU) – One billion dollars – that’s how much hunters and anglers contribute each year in the U.S. toward fish and wildlife conservation programs through taxes on their sport-related purchases. National Hunting and Fishing Day began in 1972 as a way for states to recognize the contributions of sportsmen and women in wildlife conservation and restoration, hunter education and to the shooting sports. For 78 years the Pittman-Robertson Act (American System of Conservation Funding) has imposed a 10.5%-11% federal excise tax on the sale of firearms, handguns, ammunition, archery equipment and accessories. That’s resulted in contributions of $9.24 billion toward wildlife restoration projects, including an allocation to the states of $808 million in 2015.

HONOLULU – The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of State Parks will close the Makapu‘u Lighthouse Trail and parking lot at the Kaiwi State Scenic Shoreline for seven (7) weekdays, starting tomorrow, Tuesday September 15 through Wednesday, September 23. The trail will be open during the weekend of September 19 and 20, however visitors should be aware that the trail will be rough and unpaved.

(HONOLULU) – As predicted, coral reefs across Hawaii from Kure Atoll, the northernmost land feature in the Hawaiian Archipelago, to Hawaii Island are starting to feel the effects of coral bleaching. This is a result of coral sensitivity to rises in ocean temperatures as small as 1-2 degrees. Climate experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch program forecasted severe coral bleaching conditions for Hawaiian waters beginning in August and continuing through October. The warnings indicate that high ocean temperatures compounded by an El Nino event have a strong likelihood of causing mass coral bleaching across Hawaii. Last summer saw the first documented event of mass bleaching across the entire archipelago, and reefs in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) experienced their third and worst reported mass bleaching event to date.

KAUAI COUNTY – The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) has partnered with the conservation non-profit Island Conservation (IC) and a group of interested stakeholders to study the introduced population of rats on Lehua Island.