Telescopes sit atop a snowy Mauna Kea, whose future is being decided under a Comprehensive Management Plan. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom

Taking responsibility for Mauna Kea

Why we need a Comprehensive Management Plan

By Richard Ha

A recent Letter to the Editor in the Hawai'i Tribune-Herald said that the contentious protests at the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) community meeting held recently in Keaukaha (re: Mauna Kea) could be taken to imply that all Hawaiians think alike.

Its author asserted, though, that Hawaiians are as diverse in their opinions as any other segment of the population. And he made the point that he, specifically, did not agree with all the protesters.

This person took responsibility for his own opinion.

It made me wonder what my responsibility is now, since I volunteered three years ago for the newly formed Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) committee of the Hawai'i Island Economic Development Board (HIEDB). I volunteered because I feel strongly that if this large telescope is to be built on Mauna Kea, it must be done right.

Richard Ha

Since then, I have learned a lot about the mountain's previous history and present circumstances. Now I ask myself: What is my responsibility to share what I know?

I've learned there are lingering and strong feelings of anger and resentment toward the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. People were very, very angry that prior to 2000, Mauna Kea was controlled from O'ahu rather than by people here on the Big Island.

The University of Hawai'i at Hilo is often saddled with ill feelings from those previous years, perhaps unfairly.

They are not working alone. The UH Hilo Chancellor takes advice from the Mauna Kea Management Board, dedicated members of the public who make policy suggestions (with no pay). Kahu Ku Mauna is another board of cultural advisers, and they also serve with no pay.

In 2006, Circuit Judge Glenn Hara reversed the Department of Land and Natural Resource's (DLNR) issuance of a Conservation District Use Permit that allowed for six "outrigger" telescopes to be built on Mauna Kea.

The judge stated that the management plan submitted to support the application was too site-specific and needs to be more comprehensive. So the DLNR now needs to approve a Comprehensive Management Plan that takes the judge's concerns into account.

This is why Comprehensive Management Plan community meetings were held.

In my opinion, much of the recent testimony was so emotional because people didn't believe they were being heard.

I know the people in charge of the plan, though, and am convinced they are listening carefully and will include everyone's concerns, while weighing the need to protect both the natural and cultural resources.

Some feel that the DLNR, not UH Hilo, should be creating the CMP. They say that UHH developing the plan it is akin to the fox guarding the henhouse.

The people creating the plan, though, are very credible experts in their field. And no matter who does the plan, the DLNR board will have to approve it. I don't think these people are just rubber stampers.

Some say an Environmental Impact Statement should be done alongside a CMP, but I think that reasonable people can agree that the CMP is merely a plan, not a specific project. It's not about building, or any physical project, it's just a plan – no stones will be moved and no insects will be disturbed. As an extra measure of care, an Environmental Assessment is being done.

Any future projects will trigger their own Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement. If people feel strongly about these types of process questions, though, they can seek legal recourse.

I don't think a reasonable person would consider these issues so weighty that they should stop the Comprehensive Management Plan from being put in place. This is all about taking care of Mauna Kea.

So knowing what I know, do I take a stand? Am I not responsible for what I know?

Judge Hara's intent is for the DLNR to have a management plan in place to take care of Mauna Kea in a holistic way. That is what we all want!

Are there questions so serious that it would be better to wait for an answer rather than take care of Mauna Kea now with a Comprehensive Management Plan in place? I don't think so.

Like the author of that Letter to the Editor, I too feel a need to take responsibility for my own opinion.

I say: Let's get a Comprehensive Management Plan in place now so we can start to mālama Mauna Kea.

Comments on the draft CMP may be made online at maunakeacmp.com, by clicking on "Tell us what you think," or by mail to: Ku'iwalu, Pauahi Tower, 27th Floor, 1003 Bishop St., Honolulu, HI 96813. As of this writing, the full draft was expected to be posted online at maunakeacmp.com; a draft summary was available by clicking on "Review CMP summary."

Richard Ha is the president of Hāmākua Springs Country Farms in Pepe'ekeo.