New Mauna Kea Stewards Will Need To Balance Astronomy And Cultural Values …Some members of the new panel, including former TMT protesters, may find their values challenged now that they have a vote over what happens to Hawaii’s tallest mountain.
Mauna Kea is getting new management, and it may not be as friendly to astronomy interests as its former overseers.
The new panel that will take over stewardship of Hawaii’s tallest mountain from the University of Hawaii is shaping up to include several prominent Native Hawaiians, including leaders of the 2019 protests that halted the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope.
The cultural experts will have voting seats on the governing body, instead of merely advising the summit’s managers as they do now. That increases the prospects for new limits on scientific activity on the 13,803-foot mountain, which many Native Hawaiians consider sacred, experts said.
While the astronomy industry is one of the state’s main economic drivers, critics believe the summit has been overdeveloped and culturally and environmentally exploited to harmful effect. Members of the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority will need to balance those concerns regardless of past political activity.
