WHAT’S A CONSERVATION DISTRICT? All lands and waters in Hawai’i are divided by the state into four “districts”: Urban, Rural, Agricultural, and Conservation. The purpose of the Conservation District is to protect and conserve important natural and cultural resources of Hawai’i. All land falling under the “Conservation District” is supervised by the state’s Office of Coastal and Conservation Lands (OCCL)1. The Conservation District includes forest watersheds, sensitive habitats, and all “submerged lands,” which are from the high water mark extending out 3 miles into the ocean. Today, approximately 2 million acres of land in Hawai’i are in conservation districts. For the most part, the laws for conservation districts describe the kinds of activities (or land uses) that are allowed in conservation districts, and what kinds of permits are required for these activities. If an activity is not described in the laws, then is prohibited in the conservation district Protected Lands in conservation districts are basically broken in to four subzones: Protected, Limited, Resource, General2 (See Figure 1). Only a few activities are allowed in the Protected subzone, more activities allowed in the Limited Limited subzone, and so on. Resource The Department of Land and Natural Resources requires anyone who wants to start an allowed activity in a conservation district to get a “permit” before they begin their project. General Board Approval (Type D)
Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR)
Chair Approval (Type C)
Chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR)
Department Approval (Type B)
Director Of\ice of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL)
Noti\ication
OCCL Staff
(Type A)
Figure 2. Permit Types: Four Levels of Permits Who Approves Each Permit Type?
These permits are incredibly Figure 1. Conservation District Subzones. More activities are allowed as you move important, because they down the pyramid. often mean the final “green light” for a project in the Conservation District. In general, there are four levels of permits. The main difference between the permit levels is WHO can approve the permit. (See Figure 2.) Generally, activities that pose more risk or harm to natural and cultural resources should require “higherlevel” approval. For example, removal of dead trees requires a simple notification (Type A), where building a hydroelectric power plant requires the full Board of Land and Natural Resources to approve the permit (Type D). YOUR RIGHTS AND PERMIT APPROVALS Permits are often the final approval for an activity in the Conservation District. That means the public hearing about a permit is often the final opportunity for you to make your voice heard before the bulldozers roll in on conservation lands. This is also usually the last opportunity for you to have a say before a fence goes up, a hillside comes down, or a fish farm, energy facility, or telescope is constructed.
YOUR RIGHT TO APPEAL These rules also affect your right to appeal. If you don’t like a decision made about conservation lands in Hawai’i, will you have a voice in changing that decision? These rules affect whether you have a say!
1 Under Hawai’i Administrative Rules, Chapter 5, Title 13 (also known as HAR 5‐13) 2 There is also a “Special” subzone. For a list of areas in the “Special” subzone, see Exihibit 2 of the rules.
