State law enforcement officers arrested 17 people in the Kalalau section of Napali Coast State Wilderness Park on Kauai in the last week for allegedly being in a closed area without a valid permit.

Among those arrested were three people believed to have been illegally residing in Kalalau Valley for a long time, the Department of Land and Natural Resources said Sunday in a news release.

Officers from DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement made the arrests during a pair of sweeps in the park along Kauai’s northwest coast.

Robert Farrell, DOCARE enforcement chief, said officials have been hearing about illegal activity at Kalalau through social media.

“Some of the behavior depicted on blogs and websites is brazen, clearly illegal, disrespectful to the Hawaiian culture, damaging to natural resources, and completely devoid of any appreciation for the wilderness character of the Napali Coast,” Farrell said in the release.

Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell said that as Hawaii’s largest and most remote state park, Napali has never had funding for full-time staff.

“If there’s any silver lining to what lawbreakers are posting on social media … it’s caused significant public outrage,” Cottrell said. “Our hope is to get new positions and funding authorized specifically dedicated to the Napali Coast to tackle this ongoing issue.”

DOCARE Kauai Branch Chief Francis “Bully” Mission said the designated camping areas at Kalalau Beach are largely free of illegal camps, but a number of them remain up in the valley and are well hidden.

DLNR said officers will continue to arrest anyone who law enforcement comes into contact with who cannot produce a permit.

A permit is not required for Kalalau Trail in the park from the Kee Beach trailhead to Hanakapiai Stream, and along another trail heading up the valley from the stream to Hanakapiai Falls. The nine miles of coastline trail beyond the stream requires an overnight permit from DLNR’s Division of State Parks.