URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND OTHER STATE AGENCIES TO WORK WITH COMMITTED COMMUNITY GROUPS TO CO-STEWARD COMMUNITY FORESTS LOCATED ON PUBLIC LANDS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE STATE'S FORESTS AND COMMUNITIES.

2025 Regular Session

SCR 174 urges DLNR and state agencies to co-steward public-lands community forests with committed groups, shaping collaborative stewardship (non-binding, no funding).

Referred to WTL.

#communityforests #dlnr #stateagencies

Quick snapshot

Bill number & type: SCR 174 (Senate Concurrent Resolution), concurrent resolution

Title/purpose: Urges DLNR and other state agencies to work with committed community groups to co-steward community forests located on public lands for the betterment of the state’s forests and communities

Status: Referred to WTL (Ways and Means/Water, Land, and Ocean committee, per Hawaiʻi committee nomenclature)

Introduced: March 7, 2025

Companion bills: HCR 40 and SR 143 (companion in House and Senate)

What the bill does

SCR 174 expresses the sense of the Legislature that state and community partners should share stewardship of community forests on public lands. It urges the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and other state agencies to actively collaborate with committed community groups to co-steward these forests, with the aim of benefiting both Hawai‘i’s forests and its communities. The resolution is an expression of policy intent, not a law requiring budgetary funding or statutory changes.

Key provisions and language

Context and purpose (WHEREAS clauses): The resolution situates the bill within the Governor’s proclamation of 2025 as the Year of Our Community Forest, reiterates DLNR’s mission to protect and manage public trust resources, and highlights the broad benefits of forests (health, environmental, economic, cultural).

Operative directive (BE IT RESOLVED): The Legislature “urges” DLNR and other state agencies to work with committed community groups to co-steward community forests on public lands.

Communication to authorities: Requires certified copies of the resolution to be transmitted to the Chairperson and each member of the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

Legislative status: As a concurrent resolution, it signals legislative support and intent but does not by itself create new law or allocate funds.

Who would be affected

Primary entities: Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and other state agencies with authority over public lands and forests.

Community stakeholders: Committed community groups, including local residents, Indigenous communities (notably Native Hawaiian stewardship practices), and other local organizations involved in forestry, land stewardship, and related ecotourism or community services.

Broader impact: Sets a framework for future partnerships, policy discussions, and program design that emphasizes collaborative forest stewardship and aloha ʻāina (care for the land).

Procedural and timeline notes

Introduced: March 7, 2025

Referral: March 12, 2025 to WTL committee

Next steps: If advanced, the resolution would move through committee and then to floor votes in both chambers (as a concurrent resolution, it expresses the Legislature’s stance but does not become law). Companion measures (HCR 40, SR 143) exist for alignment across chambers.

Context and potential impact

Context: Aligns with Governor Green’s Year of Our Community Forest and Hawaiʻi’s emphasis on community forestry and traditional practices.

Potential impact: Encourages formal collaboration and co-stewardship models, may influence policy discussions, planning, and future funded programs that support community-based forest stewardship. It is non-binding and does not authorize new spending or statutory changes, but it can shape priorities and partnerships moving forward.

Bill