MEDIA RELEASE

HONOLULU — Grants from the State of Hawai‘i Land Conservation Fund support efforts by state agencies, counties, and nonprofit land conservation organizations to acquire land and protect resources for public benefit. The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), through its Legacy Land Conservation Program, seeks applications from these partners for grants to preserve – forever — land that has natural, environmental, recreational, scenic, cultural, agricultural production, or historic value, including park and trail systems that provide access to such land.

DLNR’s Legacy Land Conservation Program works with partners to spend state conveyance tax revenue for important environmental and social purposes, often leveraging the state funds to meet the matching requirements of federal and private co-sponsors. Grant applications for land acquisition, and for debt service payment on previous state-financed acquisitions, are vetted in a thorough process of public review and government approval that involves three consulting state agencies; the all-volunteer Legacy Land Conservation Commission; the President of the State Senate and the Speaker of the State House of Representatives; the State Board of Land and Natural Resources; the State Department of Budget and Finance; and the Governor.

DLNR Chairperson Suzanne Case explained that the Legacy Land Conservation Program has completed transactions to conserve 30 properties over the last 11 years, with 15 more transactions nearing completion. “Through this program, DLNR has helped to secure over 11,000 acres against ongoing degradation and future land use conversion, and to save a wealth of key resources from neglect, damage, and destruction. These achievements would not be possible without the dedication of conservation-minded landowners, the commitment and persistence of community and government organizations, the generosity of private donors, and the policy decisions of our elected officials,” Case said.

Applications are due September 25, 2017, for approximately $2 million that is available for the 2017-2018 grant cycle. Application materials are available at http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/llcp/apply.

DLNR encourages state agencies, counties, and nonprofit land conservation organizations that are interested in securing a grant from the Land Conservation Fund to contact the Legacy Land Conservation Program, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, at (808) 586-0921, or by email at legacyland@hawaii.gov.

For more information about the Legacy Land Conservation Program, go to http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/ecosystems/llcp/