SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 2015 | WEST HAWAII TODAY 6A Office of Mauna Kea Management to deliver report 70-PLUS DAYS IN, TMT PROTESTORS VOW TO STAND GROUND The Kelly family would like to thank all Millie’s family & friends for the outpouring of love, condolences, and monetary gifts to our beloved wife and mother. Thank you all and god bless you. Michael Sr., Michael Jr., Maureen, and Mark Kelly Mildred Deluz Kelly June 18, 1939 - April 11, 2014 J - www.HawaiiPerformingArtsFestival.org For information and ticketing 808-646-1266 “Our 11th Season of Extraordinary Music” The Office of Mauna Kea Management will deliver its annual report Friday to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. The 48-page document outlines ongoing efforts to protect natural and cultural resources on the mountain. The office is responsible for managing the 11,288- acre Mauna Kea Science Reserve, and is under the University of Hawaii at Hilo. That area includes the 525-acre astronomy precinct, where 13 telescopes are located. UH has faced scrutiny recently from Thirty Meter Telescope opponents and Gov. David Ige over its stewardship of the mountain, considered sacred by Native Hawaiians. Ige recently asked most of the science reserve to be placed under the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The document outlines dozens of ongoing programs and research that range from addressing invasive plants and insects to cultural outreach and education. Examples include a study on erosion of the cinder cones, cultural training for employees, wekiu bug surveys, climate change modeling, a study on parking and pedestrian flow, and the capacity for commercial tours. A wekiu bug habitat restoration plan will be initiated as early as the fall, the report said. According to the office, there are nine tour operators that use the mountain. The office received authority to govern the tour operations from the state in 2009. A follow-up audit of Mauna Kea management issued last August noted the office does not expect to adopt its own rules regarding commercial tours until 2017. “Until UH adopts rules, it cannot enforce controls for managing public access nor implement certain actions called for in its management plans, thus hampering its ability to fulfill its responsibility to protect the mountain’s resources and ensure public health and safety on the mountain,” the audit said. Managing access to the mountain is one of the issues UH says it will focus on following requests from Ige to improve stewardship. The report mentions two ant species that have been identified near facilities on the slopes of Mauna Kea. The office said the non-native insects have been found near Halepohaku and the Mauna Kea visitor center. The facilities are located near each other at about the 9,000-foot level. The first ant species was found at Halepohaku in 2013 and identified as cardiocondyla kagutsuchi, which are native to Asia. While the office says it is concerned about the introduction of predatory ants, it says in the report that these ants are “relatively benign.” “It was discovered upon further investigation that this ant is also present along the Mana Road, in Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge, and in Department of Hawaiian Home Lands,” the report says. They are estimated to have been present in the area since 2007. The other ant species, ochetellus glaber, also known as black house ants, was found this year in palm fronds TMT opponents used to build a hale across the Mauna Kea Access Road from the visitor center. That location is managed by DLNR. The report says DLNR placed bait, and both DLNR and the office conducted surveys. The ants aren’t predatory, and the document didn’t state if they are of any particular concern. Surveys for both species will continue, the office said. The presence of non-native plants, such as fireweed, remains an issue on the mountain. The report says volunteers have removed 1,080 bags of weeds since spring 2012. The report can be viewed by visiting http:// dlnr.hawaii.gov/meetings/ blnr-meetings-2015. Click on June 12 submittals and then agenda item K-3. Email Tom Callis at tcallis@ hawaiitribune-herald.com. BY TOM CALLIS HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD Standoff continues atop Mauna Kea It’s been more than 70 days since tractor-trailers carrying heavy equipment ascended Mauna Kea’s summit to begin pre-construction of one of the world’s largest telescopes, sparking protests that ultimately brought the $1.4 billion project to a halt. Today, the standoff between the Thirty Meter Telescope and those fighting to stop it continues, with no end in sight. Outside the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Center, a small group of protesters, mostly Native Hawaiians who call themselves protectors of the mountain they consider sacred, maintain a 24-hour presence, prepared for the day TMT comes back to build. Meanwhile, 3,950 feet above, near the summit, security guards watch over the project site. Protest organizer Kaho‘okahi Kanuha, who was one of the 31 people arrested April 2 for blocking the roadway, described the situation as a waiting game. “It’s going to be a battle of the wills in a sense,” he said. “How long can we last and stay here and sacrifice, like we’ve been sacrificing for the past 70 days, when it comes to jobs and family and things like that? How long can we take a stand?” So far, TMT has not announced plans to resume grading and grubbing work. And for opponents, when that happens doesn’t really matter. “All we know is they’re planning to do construction and we’re going to stop it,” Kanuha said. Project manager Gary Sanders said in a statement that the TMT location is a construction site and it is standard procedure to have security for health and safety. “Round-the-clock security is monitoring the equipment on site to ensure it is secure and kept in good condition,” he said. TMT declined to provide information on security costs. The current lull in activity has resulted in many protesters heading back to their jobs and families. Kanuha said his group has told its supporters to save their resources and time for when it’s really needed. “And that, we anticipate, should be coming very, very soon … I don’t really see them waiting past mid- June,” he said. For the core group of between 10 and 15, sacrifices have been made. Bronson Kobayashi was living on Maui when he saw news of the arrests on TV. He quit his job as an intern with the Department of Land and Natural Resources, moved home and has since spent more than 50 days on the mountain. Like others, he has no plans to stand aside, even if it results in his arrest. “When the big kahea (call) goes out, we know thousands are coming,” he said. On March 26, Kanuha left his job as a preschool teacher at Punana Leo o Kona. The school, he said, supports what he is doing and has given him an extended leave of absence. What he is doing may seem like a large sacrifice for an outsider looking in. However, he sees it as a personal responsibility. “I know that we’ve been put in this place at this time for this reason,” he said. Daily life for this group consists of visiting with tourists, sharing meals, praying and waiting. Most days, only a handful of people can be found at the camp, which is located just across the road from the visitor center and features a living room-sized tent covered in signs and flags, complete with a cooking area, chairs and cots. On the hillside above the camp, protesters have built a traditional hale out of ohia wood. On Thursday , Day 71 of the standoff, about 10 people, including a few children, could be found BY CHRIS D’ANGELO HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD in and around the camp. A pot of hot chowder, delivered by one of the team’s supporters, was on the menu for lunch. At the end of each day, the protesters retire to their cars to sleep. In an email Saturday, DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward said the area is not permitted for camping but did not respond to the Tribune- Herald’s questions about why the department has allowed the protesters to remain at the site. “Both state and county officials are monitoring the situation,” she wrote. Last week, Gov. David Ige announced his vision for better stewardship of Hawaii’s tallest mountain, including establishing a Mauna Kea Cultural Council and decommissioning three telescopes by the time TMT is complete. He also promised to protect the rights of TMT to proceed with construction, as well opponents to peacefully protest. While some applauded the governor, many opponents felt he contradicted himself. They said any plan that still allows for the construction of TMT, the largest telescope yet, is unacceptable. Hilo resident Pono Kuikahi comes up the mountain approximately four days per week, sharing his message with people from around the world. “Everyone has their own mountain, their own temple,” he tells interested visitors. “Nobody wants (the telescope) on top of theirs. It doesn’t have to be a mountain, just a sacred place, wherever it may be. This is ours. This is our spiritual place.” Asked what he’ll do if the standoff lasts a year, or two years, Kuikahi said, “Then we’ll be here for a year.” Will Falk, a writer and former public defender, traveled from California to Hawaii last month to live on the mountain and support community members in their fight to stop TMT. While things have been peaceful thus far, he worries that may change. “I get worried that when push comes to shove things could get nastier up here,” he said. “So far, the aloha tactic has been effective, and I hope that it remains effective. But I guess that will be up to the police.” Echoing previous statements, Kanuha said he and the others are not against science or the TMT, only the location. “We’re against an 18-story building being on top of this mountain,” he said. “If they wanted to build an 18-story cultural site on the mountain, a cultural center, we’d be against it. It’s absolutely too big.” “We’re here simply for the love of our land, nothing else. Not because we’re against anything, we’re not really anti anything. We’re just pro-Hawaii, pro-protecting our land, our natural resources, our sacred sites. And this will set a precedent, whether good or bad.” Email Chris D’Angelo at cdangelo@ hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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