Department of Land and Natural Resources

(KAHULUI) – Biologists with the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) are urging people to drive with aloha, now and during the upcoming holidays, and to slow down for endangered birds.   A bonded pair of nēnē, a male and female, were struck and killed by cars on A‘alele Street near the airport in Kahului on Tuesday afternoon. 

(HONOLULU) – Applications are opening tomorrow for 130 new positions designed to help both the environment and the economy as part of the Hawaiʻi response to the economic impacts of COVID-19. Governor David Ige and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature approved the use of $5 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to support a new Green Job Youth Corps. DLNR is the administering agency and has partnered with Kupu, Hawai‘i’s conservation and youth education nonprofit, to provide funding that will expand the existing Kupu ‘Āina Corps program.

(LANA‘I CITY) – Saturday night, a resident reported seeing an unattended lay net on the northeast side of Lana‘i, about 50-yards off shore. Sunday morning, a DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources (DOCARE) officer recovered the 125-foot-long net. It had no registration tags as required by law. One dead fish was in the net and the officer did not see anyone in the area.

(HONOLULU)-  Imagine a day’s work inspecting the catch of fishers, checking harvested game in public hunting areas, patrolling the state’s nearshore waters on a jet ski, and responding to crimes in progress in State Parks and Small Boat Harbors. These are some of the daily duties of a Conservation and Resources Enforcement Officer (CREO), one of the most highly sought-after civil service positions within State government.   

(Līhuʻe) -  A 52-year-old Kalāheo man was arrested on numerous charges, including assaulting a police officer, during an incident today near Salt Pond Beach Park. ​ The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) reports that Randall Sheldon Hoffman also faces charges of criminal littering and resisting arrest.

(LĪHUʻE) – A shocking drop in numbers of ‘akikiki, an endangered forest bird, was recorded this year at Halehaha, a field site in the central mountains of Kaua’i. Biologists monitoring the area found that the population of more than 70 birds recorded in 2015 had declined to just five in 2021.  

(Kapahi) – Yesterday, a massive pile of water hyacinth was removed from the Kapahi Upper Reservoir. A tip from the community alerted the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) to the appearance of this invasive species in the reservoir approximately one month ago. In response, DAR assembled a team to aid in the complete disposal of the harmful vegetation to prevent it from spreading to other waterways on Kaua‘i. 

(HONOLULU) – Today, a helicopter made repeated trips from the top of Diamond Head to the crater floor, flying down sling loads of broken concrete and rebar. The rubbish is the remains of two structures that were dismantled this week on top of the highest military fire control station in Diamond Head State Monument. The structures had become a safety hazard as concrete was beginning to fall and visitors often tried to climb on top to get the best photo vantage point. 

(Līhuʻe, Kaua‘i) – Nearly every weekend, the distinctive sound of four-stroke dirt bike engines fills the air along with red dust, between Koke‘e State Park and Kekaha on both sides of Highway 552.  

(HONOLULU) – Demolition workers have successfully removed the top portion of one of two structures that are being removed from the summit of Diamond Head Crater.