#DLNR

This initiative seeks to engage artists to explore the realities of climate change and channel their art to inspire and connect Hawaiʻi residents to climate challenges around the state.

Grants of up to $300,000 are now available for high-impact, shovel-ready projects that reduce hazardous fuels and improve wildfire safety in areas where communities and natural landscapes meet. The Fiscal Year 2026–2027 grant round will provide $1.5 million in funding for wildfire mitigation projects statewide.

The Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources approved recommendations from the Legacy Land Conservation Commission and the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife to award up to $7 million in state grants for five conservation projects across Maui and Molokaʻi.

The Lānaʻi mouflon sheep season will feature four hunts: an archery hunt, a youth hunt, a muzzleloader hunt, and a general rifle hunt.

With severe storm conditions affecting parts of the state, the Commission on Water Resource Management (Commission) has received reports of unauthorized stream channel alterations occurring on various islands. Such unpermitted work can threaten public safety by worsening flooding and diverting flood waters onto neighboring properties.

Due to the powerful approaching storms, all camping areas on Maui, Molokaʻi and Oʻahu are closed until further notice. The closure went into effect at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation are advising residents and visitors to avoid outdoor recreation and take precautions on the water as severe weather approaches.

Kupu, Hawaiʻi’s largest youth-focused conservation and sustainability nonprofit, is accepting applications for the Nā Manu ʻElele Steward Program. The program employs individuals to steward sensitive natural and cultural areas across the Hawaiian Islands.  The deadline to apply is March 27, 2026.

The proposal comes at a time when Maui County is hoping to one day take over the private system used to divert streams in East Maui.

Rep. Daniel Holt (D-28, Sand Island, Iwilei, Chinatown) today announced that he will not seek another term in the State House, with his final day in office set for Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. This decision comes after Governor Josh Green appointed Holt as Special Assistant to the Chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

A proposal in the State Legislature calls for lifting the current ban on private shoreline hardening to allow minimal use to help property owners.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Land and Natural Resources closed all state parks and forest areas to the public as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, due to the expected continuance of severe weather conditions across the state. 

The state already has spent $1 million to dredge the incoming channel, and now it is spending another $2.2 million to pave the access road, redo the parking lot, renovate the bathroom, add signs and put in a leach field.

Owners of a grounded vessel are hoping to get the boat removed from the Kīhei shoreline today. The vessel, Na Nahiku, ran aground on the shore fronting 131 S. Kīhei Road fronting the Kīhei Youth Center on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.

Axis deer continue to negatively impact Maui Nui forested watersheds, agricultural land and population centers. To combat these problems, the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife is inviting eligible private landowners and lessees to apply to the Landowner Incentive Program to achieve appropriate, sustainable population levels.

The community is invited to a Feb. 4 meeting to provide input on a proposed improvement project for Māla Boat Ramp on Maui’s west side.

NOAA is asking Maui’s on-water community to be on the look out for a recently-entangled 40-foot female humpback whale off Lahaina, Maui. Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s monitoring team encountered the whale, referred to as Palette, on Thursday, Jan. 22. She was found to be in poor to moderate condition, showing moderate to strong emaciation and widespread carpets of red-colored cyamid amphipods (whale lice) across her otherwise light-colored body. If she is spotted, please call 888-256-9840 to report her location and share photos or videos if possible, but do not approach closer than 100 yards.

A community report to the Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee last month led to the collection of a single live ramie moth (Arcte coerula) caterpillar, the first detection of the invasive pest on Kauaʻi. This pest poses a threat to native invertebrates such as the Kamehameha butterfly and native snails by competing for the same plants.

Today marks the start of a long-awaited bathroom and wastewater system construction project at Kahului Small Boat Harbor on Maui.

Vacancies for these officer positions are located across the state.