Should Astronomers Be Worried About Changes At Mauna Kea? … The governor is considering a bill to transfer management of Hawaii’s tallest mountain from UH to a new governing authority.
A legislative decision to create an independent authority to manage Mauna Kea has cast uncertainty over the future of astronomy on the mountain, which has been the site of important scientific discoveries but also protests that halted the construction of the world’s largest optical telescope.
The bill, which would end the University of Hawaii’s stewardship of the state’s tallest peak after a five-year transition period, was a compromise that included a promise to keep supporting astronomy as a state policy.
Representatives of observatories with telescopes on the summit promised to cooperate with the new authority, which was aimed at giving Native Hawaiians more of a voice in decisions about the use of what many consider sacred land.
