Culture versus science is an ever-present source of tension on the summit of Mauna Kea. Subaru, left, and Keck are among the 12 observatories on the mountain.- Photo: T. Ilihia Gionson

Mauna Kea plan headed for BLNR vote

By T. Ilihia Gionson / Ka Wai Ola

Hundreds of hours of emotionally charged testimony before a myriad of bodies in support of and opposed to the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan will come down to a vote of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources this month.

But the land board won't vote until it holds two more days of public testimony. The board will meet April 8 and 9 at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, and will vote at the end of the day April 9.

Many in the astronomy, university and business communities support the plan as a first step toward more local community control over the mountain. Even with its flaws, they see the plan as a vehicle for future discussions on the future of Mauna Kea.

Those opposed to the plan have a wide variety of stances, from concerns about the University of Hawai'i's past management record to objections that the plan does not address religious practices on the summit considered sacred to Native Hawaiians. Hawaiian independence organizations, homestead associations and Native Hawaiian individuals have voiced concerns, calling the plan rushed and preliminary.

On March 20, the university's Mauna Kea Management Board voted to recommend the approval of the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan.

"Without a comprehensive management plan, however flawed it may be, Mauna Kea could go the way of Shiprock," said Jackie Hoover, referring to a site in New Mexico sacred to the Navajo people, in her testimony to the university's Mauna Kea board. Many non-Navajo have tried to scale Shiprock over the years, to the dismay of the natives. Hoover is of Hawaiian and Navajo descent.

Board member Ron Terry said he supported the plan because the board will then have a "stamp of approval" from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to manage the plentiful cultural and natural resources of Mauna Kea. Board member Herring Kalua supported the plan as a way to bring control to the community. "Let's see what we can do for the next generation," he said. "We gotta stand up; not for commercial purposes, but for the sustainability of our families."

The lone Mauna Kea Management Board member who voted against the CMP recommendation was Lisa Hadway. "I truly support the concept of a management plan, but this plan is a little preliminary," she said. "We don't need to rush."

Hanalei Fergerstrom of the Temple of Lono also opposed the CMP, saying the plan made only cultural references to the mountain. "It makes no reference to religion," he said. "The summit of Mauna Kea is very important to us."

Others in opposition wondered aloud what benefits the recommendations in the CMP might have for the Native Hawaiian community. "I wanna be real simple: What's in it for us?" asked Hawe Keli'ikoa of Manu O Kū Hawai'i.

Kīhei Soli Niheu of Waimea said UH shouldn't have a role in managing Mauna Kea. "The university doesn't belong up there to tell us what to do," he said. "No matter what happens, subjects of the Hawaiian kingdom will not lie down and follow the university's rules."