Department of Land and Natural Resources

(Kahului, Maui) – Shark warning signs are up from Ho‘okipa to Baldwin Beach Park after a 45-year-old Haiku woman sustained minor scrapes in an apparent encounter with a shark at around 1:00 p.m. today. 

(Lāhainā, Maui) – The 150-year-old Banyan Tree, which shades nearly a full block between Front Street and Wharf Street in downtown Lāhainā, continues to show positive signs of recovery following the August 8 wildfire.  It is not the only tree, however, receiving attention from a group of volunteer arborists and landscapers who have banded together as the Lāhainā Treescape Restoration Project. The title was coined by arborist Steve Nimz who initiated care and watering for the historic Banyan tree. 

(KAUNAKAKAI, MOLOKA‘I) – Of all the main Hawaiian Islands, Moloka‘i is the poster child for the concept of mauka to makai. Barren landscapes and forests laid bare by decades of invasive hooved animals and water diversions have sent sediment from high country erosion onto the Friendly Isle’s fringing coral reef, described as a national treasure. 

(HONOLULU) – October is “Stop the Ant Month” in Hawaiʻi and a multi-agency effort throughout the month will encourage residents to collect and submit ants from their properties to help detect and control the spread of invasive little fire ants (LFA) and other harmful pest ants that may be new to the state.

(HONOLULU) – The DLNR Engineering Division announces an improvement project to encase seven of the existing 11 Ala Wai Canal stairwells between Ainakea Way and McCully Street, beginning Monday, October 2, 2023.

(LĀHAINĀ, MAUI) – A team from the DLNR State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD), joined by the Lead Environmental Advisor from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have made preliminary conclusions that some of the most notable historic structures burned in the Lāhainā fires can be rehabilitated.

(KAHULUI) — A unique plant first seen in the high forests of West Maui in 2020 has now been officially recognized as a new Hawaiian species. The plant, now named Clermontia hanaulaensis, was found during routine surveys by botanist Hank Oppenheimer of the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP), a partnership with DLNR and the University of Hawai‘i.

(KEKAHA, Hawaii) – The Department of the Navy signed a $4.14 million Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit Cooperative Agreement award with the State of Hawaii to fund conservation programs around the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands on Kauai.

(HONOLULU) — Officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), along with personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety, and the Honolulu Fire Department, participated in a joint search and rescue exercise in the waters off Magic Island on O‘ahu’s south shore Wednesday morning.

(HONOLULU) – The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) is hosting a virtual community informational meeting on October 3 to provide status updates on DOBOR facilities in West Maui and answer questions related to resumption of commercial vessel operations in West Maui