Department of Land and Natural Resources

(HONOLULU) – In a 73-page decision today, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the First Circuit Court’s ruling upholding the State Board of Land and Natural Resources (Board) decision on a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) and Incidental Take License (ITL) for the Na Pua Makani wind power project on the north shore of O‘ahu. 

(LĪHUʻE) – After fielding countless complaints over the course of several years about illegal or unpermitted wedding photography happening on county and state lands, today commercial photographers got their permitting questions answered. 

(HONOLULU) – A roughly 300-acre parcel mauka (upland) of the Hawaiʻi Loa and Niu Valley subdivisions has been officially designated as a new Hawai‘i State Natural Area Reserve (NAR). Governor David Ige signed an Executive Order on February 3, creating the Pia Valley NAR.  

(KIHEI) - Four mineral sunblock dispensers are up on this Valentine’s Day on south Maui shores, encouraging all to “love the ocean the right way.” Two are at the ‘Āhihi-Kīna‘u  Natural Area Reserve and a pair are to be installed at Mākena State Park. Thousands of people enter the ocean at these locations every day. 

(Off the west coast of Maui) – Exclamations of glee and ear-to-ear grins are the order of the day, as passengers on a commercial whale watching tour are treated to tail slaps, breaches, and blows. An estimated 40 whale watch companies operate in Maui Nui, and as big as the ocean is…it can get crowded…for humpback whales. 

(HONOLULU) – It all started last October, when people began seeing bag after bag of rubbish floating in the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor or within the trash catchment at the harbor’s mouth. 

(OLINDA, MAUI) – Bird conservation projects across Hawai‘i rely entirely on government funding, as well as grants from non-government organizations and donations from non-profits. It’s a constant struggle to stay financially afloat, particularly in the face of serious threats to numerous forest bird species. 

(Hilo) - The opening of the 2022 spring bearded turkey hunting season begins on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. The spring season will run for 46 consecutive days through Friday, April 15, 2022. The spring season will be for bearded turkeys only, in locations identified below.

(LĪHU‘E) – Almost four years after Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) was first detected in a lower-elevation forest in northeast Kaua’i, the fungus known to exclusively infect ʻōhiʻa has been found in a dead ʻōhiʻa in the pristine wilderness area of the Alakaʻi at 4,100-feet elevation. 

(KAPALUA, MAUI) – A conflict between private property rights and recreational access along the rugged Nāpili coast, highlights the competing interests and strong emotions often evident in these disputes.