There is clear recognition that the era of carefree exploration of Hawaii’s once-hidden natural treasures has ended. The newly established Hanalei Initiative will put controls on visits and, despite a rough debut this week on the Garden Island, they are badly needed.

If the new protocols succeed, they should provide a model of restraint that could be used elsewhere. But first, law enforcement will need to manage both intimidation by resident protesters and the liberties taken by tourist scofflaws parking illegally and ignoring the new “house rules.” Behavior on both sides needs correction.

Having at last reopened Kuhio Highway, shut down following the torrential rains and mudslides in April 2018, state and county officials are moving appropriately to implement the limits on access to the natural resources found at the highway’s terminus.

Parking at Haena State Park is limited to 100 stalls, so the Parks Division has created a system of vouchers to be secured for park entrance and for parking, and has established a shuttle service to constrain the number of cars that drive past Hanalei. Too bad shuttles aren’t set to start until Friday.

For decades, the state park, Kee Beach and the Kalalau Valley trailhead have been great lures to the adventurous tourist. But it’s with the advent of social media that awareness of these sites has boosted visitor traffic to an unsustainable level.

During the Kuhio closure, routes north of Hanalei were virtually cut off to all but local residents and hotel guests. They were permitted access through one-way convoys toward the north end and back; that system ended Monday with the highway’s reopening.

As that end date approached, the community came to the rational conclusion that resources would not be able to recover should traffic be allowed to return to pre-flood levels.

The limits themselves make sense: The cap on daily visits is set at 900, down from the 1,000 arrivals to the park before the road closed.

Even the “Aloha Pledge” visitors are encouraged to sign conveys the right message: Visitors are guests, and they should respect the rules in this environmentally sensitive area. Guests should expect some strict enforcement — such as stiff fines when they disregard no-parking signs — as part of the pact.

What’s also true, however, is that the kamaaina are their hosts. Some plainly had not pledged the aloha that a good host shows. At one point early Tuesday, a group of protesters formed a human chain to block the highway; police later dispersed them to the roadside.

The community had grown accustomed to a virtually tourist-free existence for more than a year. Now some have said they want state officials to know that the north shore isn’t ready for visitors.

Ideally, the state should have planned the reopening to occur with shuttle service, and after more tourists on-island had been briefed through their hotels about the changes. That would have made the rollout smoother. But the assertion that a year is not enough time to prepare? Nonsense.

Neighbors are within their rights to protest peacefully — though it’s an unfriendly message, no matter how it’s phrased. And rights don’t include blocking a state highway. Police should keep up their vigilance against that, as well.

The Hanalei Initiative will require a little time to get the knots untangled. It should fall to the Kauai Visitors Bureau and the Hawaii Tourism Authority to collaborate on an informational outreach, enlisting airlines on Kauai-bound flights and concierge desks on-island, as well as the north shore community, to help educate visitors.

They must know that Kauai needs careful tending, as any garden does, or its beauty will be lost.