Hawaiʻi Awarded $1.5 Million in Land and Water Conservation Fund Grants

File photo Mākena State Park, Big Beach. Photo by Wendy Osher.

Hawaiʻi will receive more than $1.5 million in funding from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to support the City and County of Honolulu and the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources with improvements to parks on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi and Maui, US Sen. Mazie K. Hirono announced today.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources was awarded $500,000 for additional accessibility routes and restroom upgrades at Mākena State Park on Maui. It also will receive $500,000 to make improvements to walkways, parking areas and other facilities at Fort Elizabeth State Historical Park on Kauaʻi.

The City and County of Honolulu will receive $653,036 to update playgrounds and make other renovations at Geiger Community Park, Lanakila District Park, ʻĀina Koa Neighborhood Park, and Waimānalo Beach Park.

“Hawaiʻi has benefitted from more than $260 million in funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund over the last five decades,” Sen. Hirono said. “We know how vital our outdoor spaces have been during this pandemic. Funding these projects across our state will keep these parks well maintained so they can continue to be enjoyed.”

Sen. Hirono has continued to advocate for fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. In June, the Senator voted to pass the Great American Outdoors Act, bipartisan legislation to address the National Park Service deferred maintenance backlog, and permanently and fully fund the LWCF.

In a February 2019 speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Hirono called attention to how the LWCF protects Hawaiʻi’s natural resources. The Senator continues to support robust funding for LWCF, and received a 100 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters’ 2019 environmental scorecard.