A process to form a vision for the future of Mauna Kea is starting to take shape.
A process to form a vision for the future of Mauna Kea is starting to take shape.
A 10-member committee, known as the Hui Ho‘olohe, will begin receiving feedback from Hawaii Island residents next month, said Friends of the Future executive team leader Susan Maddox, who is managing the process.
The effort, known as EnVision Maunakea, is sponsored by the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, UH’s Office of Mauna Kea Management, ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
The mountain is prized by astronomers and considered sacred by some Native Hawaiians.
The first “listening session” is scheduled for March 18, with a location and time to be announced.
But not everyone will be able to attend.
Maddox said the first meeting, considered a “soft launch,” will be limited to about 12 to 15 kupuna who will be invited to participate. The general public and media won’t be admitted. That might change for subsequent sessions.
Maddox said they want participants to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts in a private setting.
“It’s meant to be a conversation,” she said.
The purpose of the process is to create a “civil, productive dialogue” about what the mountain “means to the island community and how the various perspectives can move forward together,” according to a press release.
Maddox anticipates at least 15 sessions will be hosted around the island with different demographics and groups.
Afterward, a report will be published and provided to policymakers such as UH, which holds a master lease for much of the mountain that expires in 2033.
Maddox said the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a financial backer of the Thirty Meter Telescope, also contributed funds. Large protests from Native Hawaiians blocked TMT construction in 2014 and 2015. A second contested case hearing for the $1.4 billion project is ongoing.
Kealoha Pisciotta, a contested case participant, said she was skeptical about what these sessions will accomplish, particularly because of the sponsors’ interests on the mountain.
“To me, that is just trying to manufacture consent,” she said.
Hui members are Rob Pacheco, Noe Kalipi, Michael Chun, Kanoa Withington, Ku‘ulei Bezilla, Don Mitchell, Kihei Seto, Grant Hill, Reggie Lee and Bobby Hickcox.
To inquire about participating in the listening sessions, call 885-8336 or email susanm@envisionmaunakea.org.
For more information, visit www.envisionmaunakea.org.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.