The Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Forestry and Wildlife, has opened the Fiscal Year 2027 Operation, Maintenance, and Management (OMM) Grant under the Legacy Land Conservation Program. The program supports ongoing protection, maintenance, restoration, and public access for land previously acquired through a Legacy Land Conservation Program Land Acquisition Grant.
Funding
DLNR expects $255,000 to be available for FY2027 OMM awards. Eligible applicants may request up to $51,000 per application, with no minimum request. A single application may cover one conserved property or multiple related conserved properties owned by the same applicant. Funding is subject to the fiscal-year program budget.
Eligibility and match
Eligibility is highly specific. The applicant must have been the awardee of the Legacy Land Conservation Program Land Acquisition Grant used to purchase the property in fee simple and must remain the current owner of the property to be managed. County and nonprofit awardees must provide matching funds equal to at least 25% of the total project cost.
Matching funds may include direct money, public or private funds, land-value donation, eligible in-kind contributions, or a combination. In-kind services must be integral and necessary to the project, be provided by skilled professionals, and have a demonstrable valuation basis.
Eligible costs
Both grant funds and matching funds are restricted to five categories: equipment; maintenance and repair; materials and supplies; professional services to prepare a management plan; and professional services to prepare an environmental assessment. Costs outside those categories are not eligible under the current program rules.
Application process and deadline control
The FY2027 cycle opened August 31, 2026. The current official DLNR page lists the application due date as October 12, 2026, but does not publish an exact clock time or time zone. Atlas therefore treats the deadline-time control as unresolved and is holding this record in Draft pending authoritative verification of the exact cutoff.
Applicants first sign up for the FY2027 application. Program staff then creates a SharePoint folder and sends the access link. Current application materials include the OMM Grant Application Guidelines and Instructions, sign-up sheet, application form, and budget workbook. Maps and photos are uploaded separately to the applicant’s SharePoint folder.
Advance payments and selection
An applicant may request an advance payment when funds are urgently needed to protect, restore, or maintain resources at risk. An approved advance is limited to 15% of the approved award or the minimum amount needed, whichever is less. Other grant distributions are made against evidence of actual costs and reasonable pricing.
Applications undergo staff eligibility and completeness review, Legacy Land Conservation Commission review and scoring at a public meeting, legislative consultation, Board of Land and Natural Resources approval, and final funding release. The Commission scores applications out of 100 points across fourteen criteria.
Atlas analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 54/100. This is a verified, current Hawaiʻi State-administered grant with clear funding, eligibility, cost, match, and submission controls, but it has no direct healthcare-delivery or public-health purpose and is limited to a narrow universe of prior Legacy Land Conservation Program acquisition awardees that still own the conserved land. N9+ Fit: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. Medical technology should not be introduced or forced into this conservation-management opportunity.
Official source: Hawaiʻi DLNR — Operation, Maintenance, and Management Grant.