State Of Hawaii Department Of Land & Natural Resources

State Of Hawaii Department Of Land & Natural Resources is a state government natural resource stewardship agency that acts as a federal grant recipient to deliver conservation, habitat restoration, fisheries management, and wildlife protection services across the Hawaiian islands. The agency is not a federal contractor and does not compete for federal contracts; instead, it receives federal grants as the principal state entity managing Hawaii's forests, watersheds, endangered species, aquatic resources, and recreational lands.

The DLNR's federal grant footprint exceeds $805.5 million obligated across 937 awards since 1978, with recent annual volume (2025) of 57 awards. The top funding agencies are the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (464 awards combined across HQ and Region 1), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (95 awards, $2.5 million combined potential value), and the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region (99 awards). The agency receives primarily project grants and cooperative agreements from natural resource and conservation programs rather than formula grants, reflecting its role as implementer of landscape-scale restoration and species recovery work. The recompete cliff signals 83 awards completing performance within the next twenty-four months, representing significant turnover in the grant portfolio.

DLNR's work spans five core capability areas grounded in recent awards. First, endangered species recovery and habitat protection: $1.267 million from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (CFDA 15.615) to survey, propagate, and reintroduce critically rare Hawaiian plant species; $1.181 million for endangered bird captive breeding (alala, Hawaiian crow recovery, and native forest bird management) across multiple islands; and $2.796 million for native plant seed banking post-wildfire under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation program. Second, forest health and wildfire mitigation: $19.4 million from USDA Forest Service for fire recovery and restoration on Maui following the 2023 fires; $6.6 million Forest Legacy Program award for forest land protection; and $2.4 million State & Private Forestry Cooperative Fire Assistance for community wildfire protection planning. Third, watershed protection and water supply: $1.896 million WaterSMART grant for feral pig removal and invasive species control protecting Kau Forest Reserve groundwater recharge; fencing and ungulate control projects across Kohala, Molokai, and Kauai watersheds protecting sole-source aquifers serving thousands of residents. Fourth, marine resource management: $9.9 million NOAA Habitat Conservation Cooperative Agreement to reduce land-based pollution to Olowalu Reef through forest restoration and wildfire mitigation in West Maui; $2.045 million for coral reef conservation and management under the Coral Reef Conservation Program. Fifth, invasive species management and restoration: intensive multi-year efforts targeting Rapid Ohia Death fungal disease, feral ungulates (pigs, deer, goats, cattle), predatory snails and land snails (Snail Extinction Prevention Program maintaining 38 species in captive rearing), rare picture-wing Drosophila, and aquatic invasive species through prevention, early detection, and control.

DLNR works through two primary divisions: the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW), which manages 38 distinct native species conservation projects organized by island and focuses on endangered bird and plant recovery; and the Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR), which manages marine and freshwater fisheries, recreational boating access, and aquatic resource education. The agency partners extensively with the University of Hawaii system (including the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, Hawaiian Drosophila Research Stock Center, and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology), The Nature Conservancy, watershed partnerships, community nonprofits including Malama Huleia and Kohala Watershed Partnership, and federal land managers including the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges. Recent sub-awards route implementation capacity through Arizona State University (coral restoration thermal stress research), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (honeycreeper protection and avian malaria suppression), and River Network (native hardwood forest restoration).

Activity has remained stable over the past four years (73–76 awards annually from 2022–2024), with a decline in 2025 (57 awards) reflecting typical year-to-year variation in federal appropriations timing. The agency's grant portfolio is heavily concentrated in Fish and Wildlife Service programs (464 awards, 50% of all awards) and NOAA programs (95 awards), reflecting Hawaii's unique endemic biodiversity, threatened ecosystems, and coral reef conservation priorities. DLNR manages over $195 million in concurrent federal grants supporting landscape-scale restoration across all major Hawaiian islands, making it the dominant state recipient for federal conservation funding in Hawaii and a critical implementation partner for federal endangered species and forest health mandates in the Pacific.