Federal Survey of Hawaiian Home Lands

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Native Hawaiian Relations and Bureau of Land Management Cadastral Survey Program's California & Hawai‘i Office, in cooperation with the State of Hawai‘i's Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, are conducting a boundary survey of Hawaiian home lands.

The boundary survey will:

• Provide defensible boundaries supported by Federal land records containing essential information to determine ownership rights and privileges.
• Generate a powerful database tool to facilitate good Trust land management decisions.

Phase I Survey Areas

Nānākuli (white lines)

Lualualei (red lines)

Wai‘anae (red lines)

​Project Phase I - Nānākuli, Lualualei, Wai‘anae

Phase I of this Federal Boundary Survey Project begins with Hawaiian home lands in Nānākuli, Lualualei, and Wai‘anae as identified in the maps.  The boundary lines that will be field surveyed by local land surveying contractor ControlPoint Surveying, Inc. are identified in white on the Nānākuli map; red on the Lualualei map; and red on the Wai‘anae map.  For a closer look, the maps may be opened as larger images in another browser tab or window.

Activities and Projected Timelines

October 2018

• Records research and Standards for Boundary Evidence (SBE) review began
• Project briefings conducted for various Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) staff

November 2018

• ControlPoint began seting up its control network in public spaces under a Limited Right of Entry Permit from DHHL
• Workshop for the Hawaiian Homes Commission at its monthly meeting

December 2018

• Outreach to individual Hawaiian homestead lessees and Hawaiian homestead associations
• ControlPoint completed seting up its control network in public spaces under a Limited Right of Entry from DHHL
• Presentation and Q&A with beneficiaries at DHHL's Community Meeting
• ​Hawaiian Homes Commission authorized the issuance of a Right of Entry Permit at its monthly meeting

February 2019

• Standards for Boundary Evidence review completed and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the Land Surveyor Reports for the three areas, also indicating that a boundary survey was required for all three areas

March - April 2019

• ControlPoint conducts retracement surveys for all three areas under a Limited Right of Entry Permit allowing survey activities in public areas such as along streets and roads

July 2019

• Full Right of Entry Permit No. 685 issued

November - December 2019

• ControlPoint surveys southeastern ridgeline along blue boundary lines on Nanakuli map under Limited Right of Entry Permit No. 20:028.

February 2020

• BLM issues Special Instructions and Assignment Instructions for the field survey work.

March 19, 2020

• Field survey work suspended through April 24, 2020 due to COVID-19.  Two weeks' notice to be provided when work is scheduled to resume.

October 2021

• Waimānalo Project

Additional Information and Updates

For more detailed information about the Federal Boundary Survey Project, please follow the links below.

• Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

This page and its links will be updated as the Project progresses.

Presentations

Presentations the Office has given about this Project are listed in reverse chronological order so that the most recent and updated version appears at the top.  We will continue to revise the presentation and our webpages to be responsive to the issues raised and questions asked.

• Hawaiian Homes Commission, November 19, 2018

Background and Related Links

• Survey Needs for the Hawaiian Home Lands, BLM (1991)
• Federal - State Task Force on the HHCA (1983)
• Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act (1996)

Technical Documents Links

• Standards for Federal Lands Boundary Evidence, DOI-BLM (600 Departmental Manual 5)