Gov. Josh Green recently appointed Ryan Kanakaʻole — who is from Waiʻōhinu on Hawaiʻi Island — as chairperson and director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Kanakaʻole replaces Dawn Chang, who is retiring, effective July 1.
Kanakaʻole has served as acting chairperson and director of DLNR since December 2025. He previously served as First Deputy of DLNR. Kanakaʻole also serves on the Advisory Committee for Military Leased Lands to provide guidance and advise the governor on cultural, natural and economic strategies regarding military leases. He has represented DLNR on the Mauna Kea Stewardship Oversight Authority, Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, the Agribusiness Development Corp. Board and the Commission on Water Resource Management.
Prior to joining DLNR, Kanaka‘ole was a deputy in the Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General, as an attorney for the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp. and the Mauna Kea Stewardship Oversight Authority. He was also previously a deputy attorney general for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. In the state Office of the Auditor, he also was part of performance audits of some of the state’s largest agencies, including DLNR.
“I am humbled and grateful for the trust Gov. Green has placed in me,” said Kanakaʻole in a written statement. “Serving the people of Hawaiʻi as Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources is an enormous responsibility, one I take very seriously. Our public trust duty to protect the cultural, historical and life-giving resources of these islands is the legacy we pass on to our children.”
Green also appointed David Day to serve as first deputy, effective July 7. Day has more than a decade of experience with the state and served as the hearings officer in the Department of Health vs. U.S. Department of the Navy case regarding the release of tens of thousands of gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in November of 2021. Day has also served as the Special Assistant to the Attorney General, where he represents the state as counsel in federal cases, regarding immigration, solar energy for low-income households and the Disaster Care Management program for survivors of the Maui wildfires.
Day also served as a deputy solicitor general and deputy attorney general representing the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Commission on Water Resource Management and the Land Use Commission.
“I am deeply grateful to Gov. Green for entrusting me with this position and its weighty responsibilities,” Day said in a written statement. “Public lands, pure water, Hawaiʻi’s native flora and fauna, a clean and healthful environment and Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices must be preserved and protected for the people of Hawaiʻi today and for future generations.”
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
Leave a comment