UH Hilo agriculture alum Jay Carpio appointed to Board of Land and Natural Resources
Jay Carpio is a Native Hawaiian born and raised in Wailuku, Maui, with a lifetime of hands-on conservation, ʻāina stewardship, and public service.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
A University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo agriculture alumnus has been appointed by the governor to the Board of Land and Natural Resources for a term ending June 30, 2029.
James “Jay” John Kamealoha Carpio (Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture, 1988), a Native Hawaiian born and raised in Wailuku, Maui, will fill the Maui Nui seat on the seven-member board. The board usually meets twice monthly to review and take action on land leases and conservation district use applications, which involve designated protected lands managed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to preserve natural resources such as watersheds, forests, and coasts.
Carpio has dedicated his career to hands-on conservation, ʻāina stewardship, and public service.
“Jay Carpio has spent his life on the ground, and in the water, doing the real work of protecting Hawaiʻi’s land and ocean,” says Governor Josh Green in the appointment announcement. “From co-founding community-managed makai areas to restoring reefs and building more resilient homes, Jay understands how stewardship, housing and sustainability all fit together and that conservation-guided experience will be invaluable on the Board of Land and Natural Resources.”
Carpio’s impressive work spans over decades as a hunter and guide, rancher, land manager, master fisherman and farmer, always grounded in the day-to-day realities of conserving Hawaiʻi’s land, water, and marine resources. Much of his career has focused on serving Maui through community-based conservation organizations.
He is a co-founder of the Maui Nui Makai Network and The Limu Hui, two groups focused on restoring nearshore ecosystems and traditional resource management.
Carpio also helped revive the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council and, as chair of its Fish Committee, co-founded the Wailuku Coastal Managed Makai Area with his late mentor, kupuna Takeo Miyaguchi, helping expand community-driven marine conservation across Maui Nui.
Board of Land and Natural Resources
The board has seven members: one from each of the four land districts (Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Maui Nui, and Oʻahu), two at large, and the chair, who is also the executive head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Members are nominated by the governor and, with the consent of the state Senate, appointed by the governor for a four-year term.
Story by Susan Enright, public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
