Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources recently authorized the transfer from Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources to Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of more than 300 acres of state-owned lands in the Waiākea area of Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island.
“[Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources] did Hawaiʻi proud today by approving this significant land transfer,” said Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green in a release following the board’s action. “Getting Native Hawaiian beneficiaries onto the land has been a top priority of my administration.”
Green said more than 2,500 leases were awarded in 2025 and officials are on track to award about 3,000 this year, the most in state history.
“This transfer builds on that progress and brings us closer to helping even more beneficiaries turn their awards into homes, working farms and thriving communities,” Green said.
The eight parcels identified in the transfer consist of two commercial-zoned parcels appropriate for revenue-generating industrial/commercial development as well as six parcels in the Hilo town core suited to connected residential and agricultural homestead development.
“Today’s action by [Hawaiʻi Board of Land and Natural Resources] represents a significant milestone toward full satisfaction of the transfers required under Act 14, First Special Session Acts, passed by the state Legislature in 1995,” said Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources Chairperson Ryan Kanakaʻole in the release. “The parcels approved for transfer will provide meaningful opportunities for both homesteading and revenue generation, further supporting [the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands] mission to provide for the economic self-sufficiency of Native Hawaiians.”
Act 14 was adopted to compensate Hawaiian Home Lands for the state’s use of the department’s trust lands between Aug. 21, 1959, and July 1, 1988.
Courtesy Map: Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources- Courtesy Map: Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources
- Courtesy Map: Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources
Next steps are for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to conduct due diligence evaluations of the parcels to determine the extent to which they satisfy or otherwise meet the needs of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.
Evaluation efforts include title, environmental, cultural and infrastructure assessments.
Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands will continue to work toward consensus on the conveyance of these lands and any subsequent Act 14 requirements.
