Archives by Month:

(Honolulu) – The dropping of the Formosa’s anchor on coral in Kailua Bay on Hawai‘i island in October 2018 has resulted in the luxury yacht owners reaching a settlement with the state for $100,000 to the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), which will go to supporting coral reef management and restoration in West Hawai‘i. 

(Honolulu) – The National Weather Service’s (NWS) issuance of a Red Flag Warning for all leeward areas of the Hawaiian Islands means critical wildfire conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. The warning says, “Provided the lack of any significant rainfall through the summer months, fuels have become very dry across portions of the state.

(Hilo) – Thursday morning a DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officer, on patrol, spotted a vessel in the West Hawai‘i Regional Fisheries Management Area (FMA), off South Point. The DOCARE officer maintained surveillance on the boat during the day and then a team of officers boarded it, as they suspected aquatic resources violations.

(Līhuʻe) – A single, free-roaming cat again demonstrates the awful toll cats are exacting on endangered native Hawaiian birds. Over the course of three days in a remote area of the Hono o Na Pali Natural Area Reserve, one cat (photographed on multiple trail cameras) killed at least nine endangered Hawaiian Petrel (‘u‘au) chicks. A team working in the area found the partially eaten baby birds outside their burrows.

(Honolulu) – Construction has been completed on the replacement for the 93-year-old Royal Hawaiian Groin in Waikīkī. As construction crews completed clean-up of the site and staging areas, signs reading “Danger- Keep Off” and “No Diving” were affixed directly to the groin. Because of the high amount of Japanese tourists that visit the beach, signs have been installed in both English and Japanese. 

(Honolulu) – Qualified applicants are being sought to enter into long-term lease agreements for the former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel and the former County Club Condominium Hotel in the Banyan Drive area of Hilo, on Hawai‘i Island.

(Kona) - Last week, the DLNR Divisions of Aquatic Resources (DAR), State Parks (SP), the Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund, local businesses, and members of the community, conducted two separate marine debris cleanups in West Hawai‘i.

(Honolulu) – There are no plans to ‘detonate-in-place,” two WWII era munitions in waters off Molokini Crater in Maui County. The decision, announced today, is based on an assessment from the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DESB) conducted at the State’s request. 

(Honolulu) – Three recent graduates of the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources  Enforcement’s (DOCARE) first law enforcement academy program for rookies, cited eight men Saturday night (August 15, 2020) for spear fishing in an off-limits area. 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 15, 2020   WAIMEA ROCK ON WESTERN SIDE ...
Read More 8/15/20-WAIMEA ROCK ON WESTERN SIDE OF WAIMEA BAY CLOSING IMMEDIATELY

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 16, 2020   WARNING SIGNS GO UP AT ...
Read More 8/16/20-WARNING SIGNS GO UP AT WAIMEA BAY ROCK ONE DAY AFTER ANOTHER BIG CROWD

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 14, 2020   TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CONSTRUCTION OF ...
Read More 8/14/20-TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE HANAKĀPĪ’AI BRIDGE PROJECT 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 9, 2020   GOOD NEWS FROM THE FIELD ...
Read More 8/9/20-GOOD NEWS FROM THE FIELD – PEOPLE COMPLYING WITH STATE PARKS CLOSURES 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 8, 2020   TEN KAYAKERS ISSUED WARNINGS FOR ...
Read More 8/8/20-TEN KAYAKERS ISSUED WARNINGS FOR LANDING ON CLOSED OFF-SHORE ISLAND

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 6, 2020   ALL STATE PARKS ON O‘AHU ...
Read More 8/6/20-ALL STATE PARKS ON O‘AHU CLOSING EFFECTIVE FRIDAY AT MIDNIGHT

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 6, 2020   ON-LINE PARTICIPATION ENCOURAGED FOR PUBLIC ...
Read More 8/6/20-ON-LINE PARTICIPATION ENCOURAGED FOR PUBLIC HEARINGS ON PROPOSED MO’OMOMI COMMUNITY-BASED SUBSISTENCE FISHING AREA ON MOLOKA‘I

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 6, 2020   ANIMAL CONTROL ACTIVITIES AND TEMPORARY ...
Read More 8/6/20-ANIMAL CONTROL ACTIVITIES AND TEMPORARY CLOSURES INITIATED TO PROTECT CRITICALLY ENDANGERED HONEYCREEPER

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: August 1, 2020   A DECADE OF URCHIN ACTIVITY ...
Read More 8/1/20-A DECADE OF URCHIN ACTIVITY IN KĀNEʻOHE BAY LEADS TO SEAWEED-FREE CORALS 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: July 31, 2020   FIRST DOCARE ACADEMY FOR ROOKIE ...
Read More 7/31/20-FIRST DOCARE ACADEMY FOR ROOKIE CONSERVATION OFFICERS MARKS NUMEROUS FIRSTS

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: July 29, 2020   NON-NATIVE CORALS REMOVED FROM KĀNEʻOHE BAY  ...
Read More 7/29/20-NON-NATIVE CORALS REMOVED FROM KĀNEʻOHE BAY 

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: July 28, 2020   PEOPLE BEHAVING BADLY LEADS TO CLOSURE ...
Read More 7/28/20-PEOPLE BEHAVING BADLY LEADS TO CLOSURE OF POLIHALE STATE PARK

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: July 28, 2020   AN ANCIENT LO‘I KALO IN ...
Read More 7/28/20-AN ANCIENT LO‘I KALO IN HAKIPU‘U PROTECTED FOREVER

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON   For Immediate News Release: July 27, 2020   DLNR OPPOSES LIFTING PAPAHĀNAUMOKUĀKEA FISHING ...
Read More 07/27/20-DLNR OPPOSES LIFTING PAPAHĀNAUMOKUĀKEA FISHING RESTRICTIONS

(Honolulu) – Numerous Hawai‘i State Parks and park activities are being closed until after Tropical Cyclone Douglas has cleared the state.  Closures and details are as follows: 

(Honolulu) – After the lifting of certain restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people returned to Hawai‘i’s ocean waters. Akin to “playing well with others in the sandbox,” the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is encouraging swimmers and fishers to share aloha when in the water.

(Līhuʻe)-The DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) has closed the boat ramp loading dock at Kukui`ula Small Boat Harbor (SBH) on Kaua‘i, pending repairs.  The support beams for the structure delaminated. As a result, the pier is sagging, creating a potentially hazardous situation. 

(Honolulu)-The DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) will be holding a public hearing regarding a proposed Conservation District subzone re-designation for the former Hawaiʻi Loa College campus that has been recently acquired by Adventist Health Castle (AHC). AHC has petitioned the department and is requesting that the Hawaiʻi Loa college special subzone designation for educational purposes be re-designated into the general subzone. 

(Honolulu) – In order to reduce nighttime impacts of dredging work in the Ala Wai Canal, DLNR is changing work hours, effective immediately. The $21 million dollar, dredging and canal improvements project started last October and not only involves dredging accumulated silt and sediments from the Ala Wai but also includes the repair of two sections of wall.

(Honolulu) – Students across Hawai’i were invited to engage with kupuna as part of an essay content inspired by the 50th anniversary of International Earth Day. The contest was offered by the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) for all high school students in the state as a way to explore change in Hawai’i.

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: July 14, 2020 STUDENTS AND KŪPUNA UNITE IN ESSAY CONTEST ...
Read More 07/14/2020-STUDENTS AND KŪPUNA UNITE IN ESSAY CONTEST

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: July 13, 2020 OPEN SEASON FOR RAINBOW TROUT AT KŌKE‘E ...
Read More 07/13/2020-OPEN SEASON FOR RAINBOW TROUT AT KŌKE‘E BEGINS TODAY WITHOUT LOTTERY

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: July 9, 2020 2020 LĀNA‘I MOUFLON SHEEP/AXIS DEER SEASON CANCELLATION ...
Read More 07/09/2020-2020 LĀNA‘I MOUFLON SHEEP/AXIS DEER SEASON CANCELLATION

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: July 9, 2020   DLNRTIP APP UPGRADE INCREASES REPORTING CAPABILITIES ...
Read More 07/09/2020-DLNRTIP APP UPGRADE INCREASES REPORTING CAPABILITIES

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: June 29, 2020   STATE CONTINUES EXPLORING OPTIONS FOR REMOVAL ...
Read More 06/29/2020-STATE CONTINUES EXPLORING OPTIONS FOR REMOVAL OF UXO AT MOLOKINI CRATER

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: June 29, 2020 COVID-19 RULES FOR COMMERCIAL & RECREATIONAL BOATS ...
Read More 06/29/2020-COVID-19 RULES FOR COMMERCIAL & RECREATIONAL BOATS RELAXED

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: June 29, 2020 PLUM HARVEST TO BEGIN AT KŌKE‘E STATE ...
Read More 06/29/20-PLUM HARVEST TO BEGIN AT KŌKE‘E STATE PARK

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: June 26, 2020 EARLY CLOSURES FOR WEST HAWAI’I STATE PARKS ...
Read More 06/26/20-EARLY CLOSURES FOR WEST HAWAI’I STATE PARKS ON 4TH OF JULY

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR SUZANNE D. CASE CHAIRPERSON For Immediate News Release: June 26, 2020 UNGULATE CONTROL PROGRAM AND HUNTING ANNOUNCED FOR ...
Read More 06/26/20-UNGULATE CONTROL PROGRAM AND HUNTING ANNOUNCED FOR THE PU‘U WA‘AWA‘A FOREST RESERVE

An adult, Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby was returned to State forest land on O‘ahu today by a team from the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). The animal was captured by a Nu‘uanu homeowner on Tuesday and was initially taken to the Hawaiian Humane Society, which contacted DOFAW and in turn the wallaby was given a health check by personnel from the Honolulu Zoo.

Effective June 15, 2020, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) began issuing hunting licenses and stamps for the new hunting season (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021).

  (Honolulu) – As more and more restrictions on outdoor activities are being lifted, many people are returning to Hawai‘i’s forests to hike, hunt, and to participate in other recreational activities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, additional infections of the fungal disease known as Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death have occurred.

(Līhuʻe) – Deer hunters can now apply to hunt as the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) announce the opening of the black-tailed deer hunting season on the island of Kaua‘i.  Rules and conditions regulating game mammal hunting in Title 13, Chapter 123 will be in effect.

(Honolulu) – Once again DLNR is urging people not to disturb endangered Hawaiian monk seals, resting on beaches.

(Honolulu) – All of the O‘ahu Offshore Island State Seabird Sanctuaries normally listed as open for restricted access are reopening to keep in sync with Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s opening of beaches. Those islands are Mokuauia, Popoia, Kapapa, and the Mokulua Islands.

(Honolulu) — Effective June 15, 2020, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) district and administrative offices will begin issuing hunting licenses and stamps for the new hunting season (July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021). A valid hunting license is required for hunting on public and private lands.

(Honolulu) - The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) has again received reports of another party being promoted on social media at the Kāneʻohe sandbar (Ahu O Laka) for this weekend.

(Kailua-Kona) – Off-road vehicles are driving in an area that has been cordoned off to protect a Hawaiian monk seal mother and her four-week-old pup named Hiwahiwa (means precious), in the Mahaiʻula section of Kekaha Kai State Park.

(Līhuʻe) – One reef monitoring project by the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) staff on Kauaʻi has focused efforts at ʻAnini Reef over the past year. Recently monitoring teams observed signs of recovery since a prolific coral disease was recorded in September-October of 2019.

(Honolulu) -  The DLNR Division of State Parks is lessening restrictions and reopening park areas in conjunction with various county-specific rules and guidelines. Passive beach use is now allowed at all State Parks beaches, although some gates will remain locked for resource management, people’s safety and due to fiscal constraints. COVID-19 rules and social distancing guidelines remain applicable, following each county’s emergency orders. 

(Līhuʻe) – A team of eight law enforcement officers from the Kaua‘i Police Dept. (KPD), and the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) wrote 15 citations yesterday to people in the Kalalau Section of the Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park on Kaua‘i.

 (Honolulu) – Effective immediately Wiki Permits, the online permitting system for limited commercial activities on State beaches, such as weddings and vow renewals, is resuming service subject to the following COVID-19 “Act With Care” restrictions: No group shall exceed 10 persons.

(Honolulu) – Effective immediately, emergency restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic for commercial and recreational boating and ocean recreation are being relaxed statewide.

(Honolulu) – Dogs, by instinct, chase things, and in the case of resting Hawaiian monk seals and other wildlife, this natural trait can have serious and even deadly consequences. Last week a couple of off-leash dogs approached a seal pup resting in a coastal area of O‘ahu, threatening the animal. 

(Lānaʻi City) – The 2020 hunting lottery for mouflon sheep on the island of Lānaʻi has been cancelled by the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). The usual season will be modified in order to create a combined season for both mouflon sheep and axis deer. Details regarding this modified season will be announced in the coming weeks based on regulation of interisland travel and considerations regarding COVID-19.

(Līhuʻe) – The fishing season for rainbow trout at Pu’u Lua Reservoir on Kaua‘i will begin June 20th. To address COVID-19 concerns and accommodate social distancing, a lottery system will be used to control entry. Anglers will be able to access the reservoir for 4-hour sessions scheduled between June 20th and July 11, 2020 on Saturdays and Sundays.

(Honolulu) – The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) is seeking information on a wildlife incident on an East O‘ahu beach yesterday morning. DOCARE is seeking help in identifying the woman in the attached photo. Two dogs may be involved.

(Līhuʻe) – Opportunities to hunt for feral pig and feral goats in the Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park is opening. The areas open to animal control will be between the Ho’olulu (4-mile valley) to Kalalau Valley (11 miles), portions of Hunting Unit G. The animal control is necessary for watershed protection purposes.

(Honolulu) – In the world of nursery raised corals, a one-meter coral is considered big. Yesterday, a team of biologists and technicians from the DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) planted what is believed to be the largest coral to be grown in a land-based nursery.

(Honolulu) – Late Sunday night into the wee hours of Memorial Day, officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement and the Honolulu Police Dept. worked to clear an estimated 200 people from a beach at the Mokuleia Section of Ka‘ena Point State Park on O‘ahu’s North Shore. Witnesses report the crowd was even bigger earlier in the evening.

(Honolulu) – At the peak, an estimated 35 boats were anchored at the Kaneohe sandbar (Ahu O Laka) on Saturday, the first day of the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend. A team of six officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), patrolled the area, educating people and watching for violations.

(Honolulu) - In a 7-0 decision Friday, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) voted to reject an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for proposed aquarium fishing in West Hawaiʻi. The over 2000-page EIS had been produced by a group of ten West Hawaiʻi aquarium fishers and the National Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, on their proposal to ask the DLNR to issue permits to the ten aquarium fishers. The proposed permits themselves were not before the BLNR for decision.

(Honolulu) – All of the O‘ahu Offshore Island State Seabird Sanctuaries, normally listed as open for restricted access, remain closed until further notice and are not covered by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s opening of beaches. Those islands are Mokuauia, Popoia, Kapapa, and the Mokulua Islands.

(Honolulu) – Sacred Falls State Park has been closed 21-years, after a Mother’s Day 1999 rockslide killed eight people and seriously hurt dozens of others. In spite of hundreds of trespassers getting citations for entering a closed area since then, continued rockfalls and landslides in the park, and numerous encouragements for people to stay out, they continue to come.

(Līhue) – Kaua‘i hunters are invited to apply for Special Use Permits that allow for some additional days of the week to hunt goats, pigs and deer in all existing hunting Units EXCEPT Units A, B and L. Many hunting areas on Kaua‘i are open on weekends (Friday-Monday) only.  Beginning Monday May 18, 2020 licensed hunters may hunt more days of the week by submitting an online application at www.KauaiForestUsers.com.  Permits will be processed several times a week; not every day due to a lack of staff.

(Honolulu) – The reconstruction of the existing, 93-year-old Royal Hawaiian Groin in Waikīkī and the construction of a new $1.5 million replacement begins next week.

(Honolulu) – In order to provide the DLNR and the Board of Land and Natural Resources relevant information, including community input, into whether Mauna Kea is being effectively managed, the department is launching an independent evaluation of the University of Hawai‘i’s (UH) compliance with the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP).

(Kailua-Kona) – A citizen reported a large gathering of people and cars at Alula Beach (near Honokohau Small Boat Harbor) to the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) early Wednesday afternoon. DOCARE officers responded to the beach and observed numerous people not engaging in permitted activity outlined in the State’s current emergency rules.

(Līhue) – Kaua‘i hunters are invited to apply for special use permits to hunt goats, pigs, and deer on closed hunting days in State Forest Reserves, Natural Area Reserves, and Game Management Areas. Usually, most hunting areas on Kaua‘i are open only weekends (Friday-Monday). Beginning on Monday, May 18, people who want to hunt on closed days can submit an online application at www.KauaiForestUsers.com.

(Honolulu) – Today, as DOCARE Officer Fagota Tataipu Jr. recounted the Mother’s Day 1999 Sacred Falls tragedy, it was hard holding his emotions back. While patrolling the long-closed state park, Tataipu tearfully commented, “It’s one of those incidents in your life that you can never forget. It’s one of those, that even though Mother’s Day is a special day, you can’t help but reflect back on 1999 when we came up here because of the rockslide and so many moms that lost their lives.”

(Honolulu) – Hawai‘i’s struggling fisheries could be getting some help.  On Thursday, the Secretary of Commerce announced the allocation of $300 million in fisheries assistance funding provided by the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act). This funding is to states, tribes, and territories with coastal and marine fisheries who have been negatively affected by COVID–19.

(Kailua-Kona) – Kahalu‘u Bay on Hawai‘i Island is one of the most popular and heavily visited snorkeling locations in all of Hawai‘i. Hundreds of thousands of people come to view colorful fish and dazzling coral colonies every year, and like in many other over-used locations, the aquatic life in the bay is struggling to survive.

 (Honolulu) – Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles and other marine animals that frequent our shores have largely had near-shore waters and beaches to themselves for the past six weeks. With today’s announcement of the reopening of select DLNR Division of State Parks units across the state, park managers and aquatic biologists are reminding people to be respectful of the places we share with Hawai‘i’s treasured marine creatures.

(Honolulu) – The DLNR Division of State Parks is re-opening select parks and monuments across the state with an emphasis on social distancing and exercise and continued restrictions on gatherings of any sort. The announcement is in line with Governor Ige’s emergency rules, as well as advice from the Hawai‘i Dept. of Health.

(Honolulu) – As major contributors to the Royal Hawaiian Groin Replacement Project held on to a ti leaf lei, Kahu Cordell Kekoa remarked, “Today, what we are doing is just enhancing what those have done before us. Part of what I want to do is we want to honor those who had come before us.”

(Kailua-Kona) – 35-year-old Jason Fujioka of Kea‘au was arrested on Saturday by officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) after a private company reported the theft of its 50-foot-long vessel Noa Noa.

(Honolulu) – Being out of work and out of school coupled with the barrage of COVID-19 crisis news can be particularly tough on families with children. The recovery of Makai Prejean’s bike by a trio of DOCARE officers yesterday could not have come at a better time.

(Honolulu) – The existing Royal Hawaiian groin was installed 93-years ago and for decades it protected one of the most popular stretches of beach in Waikīkī. The virtual shut-down of Hawai‘i’s visitor industry during the COVID-19 crisis is providing a rare silver-lining. Next week, the DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL), in partnership with the Waikīkī Beach Special Improvement Association (WBSIDA), is kicking off work on a modern replacement groin, with construction work made much easier and safer without hundreds of visitors on the beach.

(Honolulu) – Two, 21-year-old men from Honolulu were cited late yesterday for entering a closed area – Diamond Head State Monument.  The individuals were escorted out of the park by officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) through the park’s main entrance.

(Kailua) – With three successive “fire-in-the-hole” warnings, LT Jordan Bethke of the U.S. Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team (Detachment Mid-Pacific) set off C-4 explosives attached to two potential Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) off Lanikai Beach this afternoon.

(Honolulu) – For more than 20 years, the sight of monk seal R5AY, known as Honey Girl, delighted hundreds of people, as she rested on and gave birth to at least a dozen pups on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i beaches. Yesterday NOAA fisheries received notification that she was found dead on a windward O‘ahu beach.

(Kahului) – While their award trips are being delayed because of the COVID-19 crisis, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) is announcing the winners of an essay-writing contest for high school students on this 50th anniversary of Earth Day. 

(Honolulu) – Beaches in the Waimanalo area were more empty today than usual on the first full day of Governor Ige’s emergency rules that has closed all beaches under State of Hawai‘i jurisdiction, other than to cross them to get to the ocean for exercise.