Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources: Conservation and Public Lands

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) administers approximately 1.3 million acres of state-owned public lands, submerged lands, and water resources across the Hawaiian archipelago. This page covers the department's conservation mandate, its land classification authority, operational divisions, and the decision frameworks governing public access, resource extraction, and development on state-controlled land. The DLNR's regulatory reach intersects with federal land management agencies, county zoning bodies, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, making jurisdictional boundaries a recurring operational concern.

Definition and scope

The DLNR was established under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 171, which governs the management and disposition of public lands. The department holds stewardship responsibility for state parks, forest reserves, natural area reserves, game management areas, coastal and ocean waters, small boat harbors, and historic sites.

The DLNR Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) serves as the primary decision-making body. The BLNR is a seven-member board appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Hawaii State Senate. The board holds contested case hearings, approves land leases, and issues conservation district use permits — all subject to HRS Chapter 91 administrative procedures.

The department's scope is defined by Hawaii's Land Use Law (HRS Chapter 205), which establishes four land classification districts:

  1. Urban — designated for residential, commercial, and industrial development; managed primarily at the county level.
  2. Rural — low-density residential and small-scale agricultural uses; county-administered with state oversight.
  3. Agricultural — primary production land protected against non-farm conversion; regulated jointly by the State Land Use Commission and county agencies.
  4. Conservation — lands requiring resource protection; DLNR and BLNR exercise principal regulatory authority.

The Conservation District encompasses roughly 48 percent of Hawaii's total land area (State Land Use Commission), making DLNR's conservation mandate the dominant land governance function statewide.

How it works

DLNR operates through eight principal administrative divisions, each carrying distinct statutory authority:

  1. Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW) — Manages 660,000 acres of forest reserves and natural area reserves under HRS Chapter 195.
  2. Division of State Parks — Oversees 52 state park units across the islands, including camping permit issuance and facility leasing.
  3. Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) — Regulates marine fisheries, freshwater resources, and aquaculture under HRS Chapter 187A.
  4. Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DOBOR) — Administers 22 small boat harbors and coastal recreational facilities.
  5. Division of Conveyances — Records land title documents and maintains the Land Court system.
  6. Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) — Issues Conservation District Use Permits (CDUPs) and Special Management Area permits in coordination with county planning departments.
  7. Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) — Administers the state water code under HRS Chapter 174C, designating water management areas and issuing water use permits.
  8. Historic Preservation Division — Implements HRS Chapter 6E to protect archaeological sites and historic properties on state land.

Applications for Conservation District Use Permits are classified under subzone designations — Resource, Protective, Limited, or General — each carrying different use standards defined in Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 13, Chapter 5. Protective subzone permits face the highest evidentiary burden and require BLNR approval following public hearing.

The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources serves as the anchor agency for all state-owned public land transactions and conservation enforcement actions, distinguishing it from county planning departments whose authority is limited to Urban and Rural districts.

Common scenarios

The DLNR's regulatory process is triggered across four primary operational contexts:

Coastal and shoreline development. Any structure within the Special Management Area (SMA), defined by the Coastal Zone Management Act (HRS Chapter 205A), requires a county-issued SMA permit. Proposals affecting Conservation District subzones additionally require OCCL review and BLNR approval. The two permit tracks run concurrently but are independently adjudicated.

Commercial forestry and resource extraction. Timber harvesting, mineral extraction, or water diversion within forest reserves requires a revocable permit or long-term lease from BLNR. Forest reserves designated under HRS Chapter 183 carry use restrictions that cannot be waived by county ordinance.

Recreational access and park permitting. Camping at state parks, trail corridor use in forest reserves, and commercial guide operations on state land require DLNR permits. Unauthorized commercial activity on DLNR-managed land constitutes a petty misdemeanor under HRS §171-67.

Water use permitting. CWRM designates Groundwater Management Areas and Surface Water Management Areas. Within designated areas, new or expanded water use requires a water use permit supported by hydrological data. The Waiāhole Ditch contested case — resolved through multiple Hawaii Supreme Court rulings — established that the public trust doctrine applies directly to CWRM permit decisions (In re Waiāhole Ditch, 94 Haw. 97 (2000)).

Decision boundaries

DLNR jurisdiction applies only to lands classified as Conservation District or designated as state-owned public lands. The following boundaries define what falls inside and outside DLNR's primary authority:

Inside DLNR scope:
- Conservation District lands regardless of ownership (private landowners within Conservation District zones must obtain CDUPs from BLNR)
- State forest reserves, natural area reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries
- State parks and recreation areas
- Submerged lands and the seabed extending to the state's jurisdictional limit
- Navigable streams and designated water management areas

Outside DLNR scope:
- Urban, Rural, and Agricultural district lands governed by county planning departments under HRS Chapter 46
- Federal installations, national parks (e.g., Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park), and military reservations managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior or Department of Defense
- Native Hawaiian land trust assets administered by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920
- Private property outside Conservation District boundaries, which remains subject to county zoning only

DLNR authority does not supersede federal Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. § 1531) mandates. Where species listed under federal law are present on state land, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service consultation requirements apply in parallel with DLNR permit processes.

The relationship between DLNR, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Native Hawaiian cultural access rights is governed by HRS §1-1 and Article XII of the Hawaii State Constitution, both of which preserve customary and traditional Hawaiian practices on land where those practices previously occurred, including land held by DLNR.

Understanding how DLNR fits within the broader executive structure is addressed at the /index level, where the full scope of Hawaii state government departments is catalogued.

References