Natural Area Reserves Commission

The Natural Area Reserves Commission oversees Hawaii's Natural Area Reserve System, a network of state lands set aside to protect native ecosystems and biodiversity across the Hawaiian Islands. It reviews proposals for new reserve designations, manages or advises on reserve boundaries, and provides guidance on management activities that protect the ecological integrity of reserves. The commission's decisions help safeguard some of Hawaii's rarest and most intact native habitats.

Hawaii's natural area reserves protect native species and ecosystems found nowhere else on Earth; the commission's work determines how well those reserves are protected from development, invasive species, and other threats.