Inventory ofRecords ofthe Department ofLand and Natural Resources Hawaii State Archives September 1999 RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES C TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Agency History Scope and Content Note BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES Minutes and Submittals. Series 269 Container List LAND MANAGEMENT DIVISION Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles Mal,ele Books. Series 285 Container List Land CommissionRegisters. Series 286 Container List Land Commission Testimo11ies. Series 287 Container List La11d Commissio11Awards. Series 288 Container List Patents Upon Confirmation ofLa11d Commission. Series 289 Container List Survey Notes. Series 294 Container List Crown Lands Commission Min11tes oftl,eCrown LandsCommission. Series 367 Container List Correspondence oftl,eCrown Lands Commissio11. Series 368 Container List Leases and Financial Records. Series 369 Container List Board of Commissioners of Public Lands Commissioner of Public Lands Outgoing Lettersof tl,e Commissio11er ofPublic Lands. Series 381 Container List Correspondence wit/1 Land S11bagents. Series 312 Container List Correspondence witl, Government Officials. Series 313 Container List Corresponde11ce wit/, Lessees. Series 314 Container List RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES [ TABLE OF CONTENTS PLANNING OFFICE Correspondence oftl,e DLNR Planning Office. Series 479 Container List Development Project Files oftl,e DLNR Planning Office. Series 480 Container List HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION Review Files ofthe HistoricPreservation Division. Series 490 Container List Hawaii Historic Places Review Board Minutes ofthe Hawaii HistoricPlaces Review Board. Series 491 Container List General Files oft/1e Hawaii HistoricPlaces Review Board. Series 492 Container List ii RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES INTRODUCTION The records of the Department of Land and Natural Resources document the administrationof public lands from 1846 to 1990. The minutes of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, correspondencefrom the Commissioner of Public Lands, and the records created by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles comprise the series described in this record group. The records described in this findingaid total 224.4 cubic feet. The Board of Land and Natural Resources Minutes and Submittals (Series 269) date from 1895 to 1990. The minutes and transmittals were transferredto the Hawai'i State Archives in various accessions between 1969 and 1994. Transfer documentation is not complete. The records of the Commissioner of Public Lands consist of three correspondence series. The records were transferredto the State Archives in 1976. The records of the Board of Commission to Quiet Land Titles, also referredto as the Land Commission consist of the Mahele Book, Registers, Testimonies, Patents, and Survey Notes. The Mahele Book dated 1848 was transferredto the Hawai'i State Archives on June 5, 0 1924 fromthe Commissioner of Public Lands. The Land Commission Registers, Testimonies, Awards, and Patents Upon Confirmation of Land Commission are in the custody of the State Archives (HRS 94-7), although no transferdocumentation was located. The SurveyNotes were transferredto the State Archives via letter dated August 27, 1974, fromthe Chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. The records transferreddo contain all of the survey notes compiled forpatents and awards. Other governmentrecords relating to public lands are inventoried in the Interior Department and Public Land findingaids which are filedin the GovernmentRecords Inventories (CD 3189.14 .H39). This findingaid was initially produced in October 1995 and revised in June 1997 and April 1999. 0 -i- DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY HISTORY The Department of Land and Natural Resources was formed from a number of existing agencies and divisions, under the Hawaii State GovernmentReorganizat ion Act of 1959. The Governor'sExecutive Order Number 14 formallyestablished the Department on May 11, 1960. The Department is the successor agency of the Commissioner of Public Lands, the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, Board of the Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, and the Land Officeof the Minister of the Interior. The Department is headed by the Board of Land and Natural Resources. The Department is responsible for the administration of the State's public lands and natural resources, and manages the State's parks, historic sites, forests, forestreserves, aquatic life and aquaculture programs, aquatic life sanctuaries, public fishing areas, boating, ocean waters, ocean recreation and coastal programs, water resources, wildlife, wildlife sanctuaries, game management area, public hunting areas, natural area reserves, various land records, and holds all instruments of conveyances. To carry out these functions,the Department is organized into several divisions, offices, and attached commissions. The organization of the Department evolves over time, and has included the followingdivisions: Bureau of Conveyances, Conservation and Resources EnforcementDivision, Forestry and Wildlife Division (formerlyFish and Game), Aquatic Resources Division, Land Management Division, State Parks, Outdoor Recreation and Historic 0 Sites, and Water and Land Development Division. The followingoffices are attached to the Officeof the Chairperson of the Board: Administrative ServicesOffice, Personnel Office, Aquaculture Development Program, and the Officeof Conservationand Environmental Affairs. The following agencies are administratively attached to the Board of Land and Natural Resources: Animal Species Advisory Commission, Fish and WildlifeAdvisory Commission, Hawaii Fisheries Coordinating Council, Natural Areas ReservesSystem Commission, and the Hawaii Aquaculture Advisory Council. Sources: Department ofLand and Natural Resources Annual Reports. 1961-1994. Guide to Government. Honolulu: Legislative ReferenceBureau, 1996. Hawaii Revised Statutes. Title 12 Conservationand Resources. Chapter 171 - Public Lands, Management and Disposition of. -2- DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES 0 SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Statutory functionsrelating to public land management performed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources and its predecessor agencies fromthe Kingdom, Provisional Government,Republic, and Territory of Hawai'i are document in the records. This record group contains materials created and collected by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, the Minister of the Interior, the Board of Commissioners of Crown Lands, the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, the Commissioner of Public Lands, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Land Management Division of the Departmentof Land and Natural Resources. The records are organized in two subgroups: Board of Land and Natural Resources and the Land Management Division. Within the subgroups, the records are arrangedin series by record type, ie., minutes, correspondence,registers, testimonies, awards, and patents. The original order of the records was retained. Within the series, records are arranged in chronological, numerical, or geographical order. Record copies are textual. The Land Commission records are indexed in the Indices ofAwards made by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles in the Hawaiian Islands, compiled and published by the Commissioner of Public Lands in 1929. 0 Board of Land and Natural Resources The records of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) contain minutes and submittals. Minutes are the officialrecord of the Board proceedings and provide a summary record of decisions rendered and policies adopted by the Board in carrying out its statutory duties to manage the State's public lands. Submittals are agenda items submitted by various divisions within the Department to the Board fordiscussion at scheduled meetings. Minutes for 1900 to 1910, 1956, and 1957 were not transferredto the State Archives. There are gaps in the Submittals forMarch 25, 1966, and December 27, 1968. Submittals dated prior to 1960 were not transferredto the State Archives. The BLNR Submittals were processed sometime in the late 19701s or early 1980's. Informationalcopies of minutes were removed fromsubmittal foldersdated 1960 to 1978, presumably to lessen the volume of records. Preservation processing of the minutes and submittals in 1995 consisted of housing bound minutes in acid freecontainers, removing metal clasps, prongs, rubberbands, and refolderingsubmittals fromacidic manila foldersto alkaline enclosures. -3· DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES Land Management Division The records of the Land Management Division consist of the Mahele Book, the records of the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles, and the correspondence of the Commissioner of Public Lands. The Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles was also known as the Land Commission. Land Commission The Land Commission records document a significantevent in Hawaiian culture and history, the transformationfrom traditional royal land tenure to the foreign concept of private land ownership by individuals. The Land Commission was granted the authority to determine the individual property rights to land existing as of December I 0, 1845. The records of the Land Commission consist of the Mahele Book, Registers, Testimonies, Patents, and Survey Notes. The functionsof the Land Commission to investigate and confirmor reject claims to land as of December 1845 are documented in the followingsix series: Land Commission Registers