Senate Water and Land committee advises consent to eight DLNR-related nominees; chair flags land-use concern

The Senate Committee on Water and Land on March 12 advised and consented to eight nominees to boards and commissions that advise the Department of Land and Natural Resources, including nominations to the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Natural Area Reserves System Commission, the Hawaii Historic Places Review Board, the Game Management Advisory Commission and the Kaneohe Bay Regional Council.

The committee’s action combined the confirmations into a single motion and the committee chair read the list of nominees before the vote. Senator Chang, chair of the Senate Committee on Water and Land, noted that she would have preferred approving all nominees in a single motion but wanted transparency and testimony on the record: “If I had an opportunity to recommend, I would say, Oh, you know what? They're all great. Let's just do 1 motion and approve everybody,” she said.

Why it matters: these volunteer boards advise DLNR on land use, conservation and cultural-resource matters across the islands. Several nominees, including incumbents, represent local communities and resource-management constituencies; one nomination prompted a formal reservation from Senator Chang tied to how state lands near transit-oriented development (TOD) sites could be used.

Most significant details

- The committee advised and consented to the following nominees: Karen Ono (Board of Land and Natural Resources, term to 06/30/2028); Jay Peneman (Natural Area Reserves System Commission, term to 06/30/2028); Adrienne Trulock (Hawaii Historic Places Review Board, term to 06/30/2028); Trisha (Tricia) Watson (Hawaii Historic Places…