Department of Land and Natural Resources

(HONOLULU) - Imagine a Day Without Water is a day observed nationally to pause and reflect on the many ways that water and water systems impact our lives and communities, and to commit to ensuring a sustainable water future for generations to come. 

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are one step closer to protecting forest birds from mosquito-borne diseases in key high-elevation native forest bird habitat on Kauaʻi, with their proposal to employ Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) to reduce mosquito populations. A jointly prepared Environmental Assessment (EA) has been finalized and issuance of a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) at the state and federal levels.

(LĀHAINĀ, MAUI) – After receiving a trailer from Maui County, this morning, to serve as staff space at Māla Wharf, the facility is reopening much sooner than anticipated. The ramp and facilities will reopen full-time for recreational vessel activity on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 6:00 a.m. People will be able to use the facility to access vessels moored offshore. 

(LĀHAINĀ, MAUI) - For three days, Jake Kane watched piles of mulch smolder and smoke after it ignited in the August 8 wildfire. The mulch was used in his work as owner of Kane’s Legacy Tree Services. Days after the fire that devastated Lāhainā, Maui County firefighters were still pouring thousands of gallons on the stubborn, burning layers of mulch.

(HONOLULU) – A pair of DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officers, on marine patrol, came to the aid of a visitor Sunday morning and are credited with saving her life.  Officer Lokene Fao was on a personal watercraft (PWC) at around 9:40 a.m. in the Three Tables area of Pūpūkea on O‘ahu’s shore when he noticed someone on the beach waving their arms to get his attention. 

(HONOLULU) – A trio of divisions under the Dept. of Land and Natural Resources are set to begin a three-month-long pilot project which allows state conservation enforcement resource officers to issue tickets and/or fines on the spot for violations of rules.

 (HONOLULU) – Dawn Chang, Chairperson of the Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM), announced today that Kaleo Manuel, 1st Deputy to the Chairperson of CWRM, will return to his post effective immediately. On August 15, 2023, the Attorney General had requested that Manuel be deployed to another DLNR Division until her investigation of certain personnel events related to the August 8, 2023, Maui wildfires was completed. 

(HONOLULU) – The Moloka‘i community came together to clean-up Pāpōhaku Beach, after a boat, grounded on the reef, broke apart in heavy surf and littered the shoreline with debris. DLNR Deputy Director Laura Kaakua said the actions of local residents, who cleaned most of the vessel’s debris off the beach, made a big difference. “This was a good example of a community and government coming together. DLNR extends our heartfelt appreciation to the Maunaloa community for their care of Pāpōhaku,” Kaakua said.

(WAIHOU SPRING FOREST RESERVE, MAUI) – Two days shy of the two-month anniversary of the start of the 1,000-acre Olinda Fire, daily fire patrols continue. Firefighters from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) continue checking for hot spots and smokers. 

(HONOLULU) – DLNR Chair Dawn Chang listened to and responded to dozens of questions from West Maui recreational boaters and commercial tour operators during a virtual information meeting on Tuesday. More than 450 community members, commercial operators, fishers, and other interested stakeholders dialed into the virtual meeting to get updates from the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) about the status of West Maui’s commercial and recreational vessel activities.