November 2026 PDF
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Translocations of Rare Finches Succeed, With Another Planned for Next Year
A palihoa being examined on Nihoa (left); the translocation team transporting boxes filled with the birds to the shore (center) and then taking them to the release site on Kapou (right). CREDIT: PRESENTATION BY SHELDON PLENTOVICH, RACHEL ROUNDS, AND HOLLY FREIFELD. CENTER … Continued
New & Noteworthy: Seabed Mining Update, DBCP Ruling
Seabed Mining Update: On October 19, the federal government announced an auction of rights to seabed mining off American Samoa. The auction, to take place November 19, involves rights to more than 31 million acres in waters off Rose Atoll....
Fairness, Resource Allocation Concerns Thwart Kekaha Farms’ $2M Relief Proposal, For Now
“I’m not understanding why, you know, bad guys get the ability to have these types of forgiveness,” Sherri Cummings told the Agribusiness Development board at its October 22 meeting. At that meeting, ADC staff sought advice on how to respond...
Maui County Sets Out Path to Acquire Private Water Systems in West Maui
The eventual reach of Maui County’s public water system is set to expand dramatically. In September, the county signed an agreement to purchase Launiupoko Water Company (LWC) and Olowalu Water Company (OWC). The two utilities, both owned by West Maui...
Water Experts for Mākena Mauka Project Weigh in on Kama‘ole Designation Petition
In August, Environment Hawaiʻi reported on a petition submitted in February by the Kīhei Community Association, the Maui Meadows Neighborhood Association, and Wailea808 asking the state Commission on Water Resource Management to designate the Kamaʻole aquifer system area as a...
Waikoloa Development Rezoning Bills Are Postponed Until Next July
Waikoloa Green, the proposed development that called for 400 apartments and 300 single family houses on the fringe of Waikoloa Village, did not win the needed approvals from the Hawaiʻi County Council last month. Instead, the council voted to postpone...
Authorized Planned Use Exceeds Waimea Aquifer Sustainable Yield
In advance of the Hawaiʻi County Council’s first reading of the bills whose passage was needed for the Waikoloa Green project to move forward, water consultant Jonathan Scheuer put together a report that estimated the authorized planned use. “Authorized planned...
Board Talk: ‘Opihi Poaching Case Remains Unresolved After Board Rejects Settlement Proposal
(Above photo: Enforcement officers count poached ʻopihi at Kawaihae Harbor. Credit: DLNR) The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ enforcement case against men accused of poaching more than four thousand ‘opihi from the Ka‘ūpūlehu Marine Reserve in September 2025...