DLNR administrator says department overwhelmed with clearing homeless camps

State Department of Land and Natural Resources’ administrator said the department is using too many resources to clear homeless camps on state land.

According to a news release from DLNR today, this week the DLNR has been working to remove homeless camps from Kapaa Quarry Road, Kapena Falls, and at Diamond Head State Monument, which fall under the jurisdiction of DLNR’s Division of State Parks.

The department said during the fall it cleared dozens of camps along the shoreline at Sand island State Recreational Area.

“We’re supposed to be doing natural resource management. Instead, we are trying to manage very difficult human sociological problems. It is a law enforcement situation. It is a management headache. It costs a lot of money to clean up these camps,” said David Smith, administrator of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife, in a statement.

One of the areas DOFAW tries to keep clear of camps is Kawainui Marsh, located near Kailua, on Oahu.

“Quite frankly these camps are like hazmat sites,” Smith said in his statement. “You see needles, human waste, and dead animals. It’s quite disgusting what we find sometimes. It takes a toll on our employees. Dealing with these situations detracts from our primary mission of natural and cultural resource protection and management.”

According to DLNR, after its enforcement division, the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement, gives notice to campers to leave, they pack up and leave “tons of trash behind.” But after clean-up crews finish, the campers “then almost immediately head back” to the area, citing Diamond Head as an example where it has happened.

Division of State Parks administrator Curt Cottrell said Diamond Head residents near the camps are “literally at their wits end.” The DLNR said a $500,000 project to fence off a portion of the Diamond Head State Monument along Diamond Head road has been explored, although said it might not be a cost-effective or long-term solution.

There were as many as 38 illegal campsites at the state monument’s slopes, Cottrell said in a statement, although those have been reduced as more cleanups have been performed.

The department said that human and animal waste from the camps flow into streams after heavy rains and said that archaeological and cultural sites have been damaged by the camps.

Pua Aiu, who coordinates the supervises the cleanups, said people don’t want to move off the land, but slowly are convinced to move into temporary transitional housing.

DLNR chairwoman Suzanne Case said she hopes the land being occupied by the camps can be used for their original purpose.

“Our fervent hope is, that in time, we can restore these lands for the purposes which they are set aside for; the protection and enjoyment of our natural and cultural resources,” Case said in a statement. “We will continue approaching this very difficult problem from every angle possible.”