Mrs. Valerie Maluyo and her third-grade students at Waialua Elementary School recently wrote heartfelt letters to the DLNR asking for help to share a message they had. With increased visitor traffic on beaches near their neighborhoods, they noticed a disturbing trend impacting the coral reefs. People, unknowingly or not, were stepping on the corals and causing damage. Wanting to raise awareness and help to correct the situation for these living creatures, Mrs. Maluyo and her students created a short public service announcement to educate visitors (and locals) about this threat to a critical na ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 9, 2024 DLNR CLOSING PORTION OF FOREST RESERVE FOR HA‘IKŪ STAIRS REMOVAL Click on photo to view video (HONOLULU) – A portion of the Moanalua Section of the Honolulu Watershed Forest Reserve known as “Middle Ridge” will be closed for 90 days, or longer if necessary, during construction work to remove the Ha‘ikū Stairs. The action, under Hawai‘i Administrative Rules (HAR), closes the portion of the reserve bounded by the Kulanaʻahane Trail to the north, the Kamananui Valley Road and an unofficial trail kn ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 7, 2024 DOZENS OF VEHICLES TOWED FROM KAHULUI BOAT HARBOR Click on photo to view video (KAHULUI, MAUI) – With a large presence of workers from the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR), and under the watchful eye of officers with the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), today the public parking areas at the state’s Kahului Boat Harbor are relatively clean of camps, and more than five dozen vehicles, many of them abandoned. Local towing operators, under contract to Maui ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2024 A THIRD MAYOR SIGNS YEAR OF THE FOREST BIRDS PROCLAMATION Click on photo to view video (WAILUKU, MAUI) – Maui Mayor Richard T. Bissen, Jr. signed a proclamation to recognize 2024 as Ka Makahiki o Nā Manu Nahele, Year of The Forest Birds, on Wednesday. This action follows Governor Josh Green, M.D.’s proclamation in January and county proclamations on Hawaiʻi Island on Feb. 1, and on Kaua‘i on March 11. Mayor Bissen spoke about the plight of Hawai‘i’s forest birds but acknowledged hope for the future i ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2024 KAIMANA BEACH MONK SEAL WATCH AND SAFETY PATROLS TO BEGIN Click on photo to view video (HONOLULU) – Federal, state and county agencies and nonprofit organizations have again joined together to keep people and Hawaiian monk seals safe during peak pupping season. Early this morning, Kaiwi (RK96) pupped at Kaimana Beach. This is the third offspring she’s delivered at Kaimana. Her three other pups were born along her namesake – the Kaiwi Coast in East O’ahu. Monk seal births in Waikīkī draw crowds, and distan ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2024 MAY IS HAWAIʻI INVASIVE SPECIES AWARENESS MONTH (HONOLULU) – Today marks the beginning of Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Awareness Month (HISAM), an annual campaign to prevent and minimize the impacts of invasive species and highlight the positive steps being taken to protect our islands. HISAM is hosted by the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC), an inter-departmental collaboration co-chaired by the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture (HDOA) and the DLNR. Partners include the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Un ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2024 KAIMANA BEACH MONK SEAL WATCH AND SAFETY PATROLS TO BEGIN Click on photo to view video (HONOLULU) – Federal, state and county agencies and nonprofit organizations have again joined together to keep people and Hawaiian monk seals safe during peak pupping season. Early this morning, Kaiwi (RK96) pupped at Kaimana Beach. This is the third offspring she’s delivered at Kaimana. Her three other pups were born along her namesake – the Kaiwi Coast in East O’ahu. Monk seal births in Waikīkī draw crowds, and distan ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2024 THE SAD STORY OF A NĒNĒ GOSLING PROMPTS ACTION IN HILO PARK Click on photo to view video (HILO, HAWAI‘I ISLAND) – Like many family stories, this one begins with the mother. Mom is an adult female nēnē, one of Hawai‘i’s State Birds, banded NTC. Last year one of her goslings was abducted from Wailoa River State Recreation Area. Police and conservation officers followed leads and a local family, who witnessed the bird-napping, followed her until she was apprehended. The young bird is back at the pa ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 26, 2024 STATE LAND BOARD TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION CULTURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE AND PUBLIC IMPACTS IN $1.8 MILLION FINE FOR BOAT GROUNDING Click on photo to view video (HONOLULU) – “A slap on the wrist in this situation, would be a slap in the face of this community,” exclaimed John Carty of the Save Honolua Coalition. This, after the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) greatly increased a fine against the owners and operator of the yacht Nakoa. The luxury yacht grounded on a reef approximately 600 yards nor ..read more

JOSH GREEN, M.D.GOVERNOR DAWN CHANGCHAIRPERSON FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2024 STUDENT VIDEO CHALLENGE SHOWS IMPORTANCE OF HAWAIIAN FOREST BIRDS TO FUTURE GENERATIONS Click on photo to view video (HONOLULU) – Handmade bird puppets, lab scientist costumes, moʻolelo, and animated infographics are just some of the tools that K-12 students across Hawaiʻi used to create video projects about forest birds as part of the 2024 ʻŌlelo Youth Xchange Video Challenge. The video contest, run by ʻŌlelo Community Media, includes a video category called “Makahiki o Nā Manu Nahele: Year of the For ..read more