Department of Land and Natural Resources

(Waikoloa, Hawai’i) – A fast-moving, wind whipped wildfire on Hawai‘i Island has federal, state, and county firefighters preparing for a prolonged, intense firefight. Called the Leilani fire, Wednesday night it grew from an estimated 700-acres in size to 9,800 acres this afternoon.

(HONOLULU) – By this time next year, if they all succeed, the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) will have 42 additional conservation officers to beef up the ranks in all four branches of the agency: O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Island, Maui, and Kaua‘i. 

(HONOLULU) – The Hawaiian monk seal Rocky and her pup (PO8), spent most of this morning in the water. By late morning they’d moved back onto Kaimana Beach to rest, prompting volunteers from Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR) to again change-up their cordon, with ropes and signs to keep people back. 

(KONA) – A roughly 1,260-acre parcel in Waiea, on Hawai‘i island has been designated as part of the State Natural Area Reserve (NAR) System managed by the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW).

(HONOLULU) – At dawn, about the only people at Kaimana Beach were folks from Hawai‘i Marine Animal Response (HMAR) and a couple of television crews. HMAR is the organization that mobilizes volunteers to watch over resting monk seals.

(HONOLULU) – The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement (DOCARE) announced today it will be enforcing a 50-yard cordon around Hawaiian monk seal Rocky and her pup at Kaimana Beach beginning tomorrow morning. This is a government operation to protect public safety and the safety of the monk seals.

(MILOLI‘I, KONA, HAWAI‘I ISLAND) – With the stroke of a pen, while dozens of community members watched, Governor David Ige on Tuesday signed administrative rules to make the coastline bordering this remote village the second Community-Based Subsistence Fishing Area (CBFSA) in the state. 

(HONOLULU) - Applications for the 2023 Lānaʻi Axis Deer hunting season will be available for purchase next month. The DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) will begin accepting applications Monday, August 15, 2022.

(HONOLULU) – Over two years after closing, due to COVID concerns and overuse and abuse issues, Polihale State Park will reopen to overnight camping beginning August 14, 2022. Reservations will be available online starting August 1 and may be made up to 90 days in advance. 

(HONOLULU) – When the Hawaiian monk seal Rocky, and her pup encountered a 60-year-old California elementary school teacher, a State investigation shows she did nothing to provoke the incident and was not even aware the seals were in the water.