Mauna Kea Telescopes:
When is Enough, Enough?
Although there is a scientific community that relies upon Mauna Kea telescopes, the proposal to build a massive observatory on a whole new plateau has been raising eyebrows, and drawing serious opposition from the community.New development on Mauna Kea has been opposed for the last thirty years, but now a massive new telescope is being proposed. This time the idea is to build a 36 acre telescope on the last pristine plateau on Mauna Kea. The University of Hawai'i's Institute for Astronomy (IFA) is in the process of desgning this telescope with the University of California. They propose to construct a Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) in 2009. This telescope is the largest development ever proposed for the Mountain, and once constructed, would be the largest telescope in the world. Almost all the telescopes that are on the summit right now could fit inside the TMT's dome. There is no doubt that this massive construction project will have major adverse effects on the sacred and fragile north slope of Mauna Kea's summit. The Summit, including the north slope, is sacred grounds and has many burials, a vast conservation area, and the Big Island's primary aquifer. The Environmental Impact Statement submitted by NASA in 2003 stated that the cumulative impact of astronomy development over the last thirty years has resulted in substantial, significant, and adverse impact to the summit's natural and cultural resources. This means that the TMT, will have a similar impact to the thirty years of astronomy development discussed in the statement. Furthermore, developing this area would require new roads, and infrastructure, so the impact could even be grater then the existing Mauna Kea Telescopes. It just does not make sense to proceed with this project.
Legal Roadblocks The Telescope is Facing
The IFA has undertaken putting together a court ordered "comprehensive conservation management plan". This plan is being compiled by Ku'iwalu Consulting, and they are currently gathering information from the community, and putting together a draft for the IFA.The IFA idealizes to submit their plan to the State Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) by December 2008. In order to build the TMT, the BLNR and IFA would have to have it approved by the DLNR. The IFA is not the party that is legally responsible for preparing this plan, and although they work closely with the BLNR, they are not a government agency. They have a financial interest in developing the summit. Therefore there is a conflict in the IFA preparing the plan. The original lease for Mauna Kea, approved in 1968, allowed for one observatory to be built on the summit. In 1983 the BLNR submitted a plan that was approved that allowed for thirteen telescopes. Completely ignoring this, the IFA had built 24 telescopes by 1999. This led to the BLNR's plan that was submitted in 2000, asking for approval of forty structures on Mauna Kea. This plan was rejected by the 3rd Circuit Court. More and more, the State and Federal governments recognize the significance of Mauna Kea. The entire summit is it's own conservation district, with the purpose of conservation and water shed protection. The IFA and BLNR's proposal for the new TMT is completely outside of these purposes.
Mauna Kea as a Sacred Site
Since there has been Hawaiians, Mauna Kea has been possibly the most sacred site to them. This is something that also should be considered, in any government action!The courts are realizing more and more that, the State of Hawaii has no legal ownership over close to two million acres of ceded land that was taken from the Hawaiian Kingdom. The State of Hawaii and its citizens are, actually, the only trustees. There was a Supreme Court ruling in January of 2008 that the State has no legal right to sell any of the ceded lands, and practically admitted that all that land still belongs to the Hawaiian Kingdom. The Supreme Court ruling was based upon the
Apology Bill or Public Law 103-150.
What You Can Do
What you can do to help the Sacred Summit of Mauna Kea:First, Talk story! Tell a friend! Let others know what could happen to this sacred mountain, and our precious resources! You & I both know how word flies around like wildfire on these islands! Then, Do Something! In the next few months, there will be a call to come support our opposing action! It will be up to all of us to show our uncompromising support for protecting the sacred summit of Mauna Kea! A second round of meetings is planned for this fall to present a draft of the plan for community review and comment. The plan will then be submitted to the Mauna Kea Management Board for its review before advancing to the Board of Land and Natural Resources for final approval.
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