Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 2, 1 February 2009 — Taking responsibility for Manna Kea [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Taking responsibility for Manna Kea

Why we neeel a Comprehensive Management Plan

Arecent Letter to the Editor in the Hawai'i Tribune-Herald said that the contentious protests at the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) coimnunity 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 populahon. 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 Eeonomie 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. Since then, I have

learned a lot about the mountain's previous history and present circumstances. Now I ask myself: What is my responsibihty 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 eontrolled 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 Iudge Glenn Hara reversed the Department of Land and Natural Resource's (DLNR) issuance of a Conservation District Use Pennit that allowed for six "outrigger" telescopes to be built on Mauna Kea. The judge stated that the management plan submitted to support the applieation 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 conununity meetings were held. In my opinion, mueh of the recent testimony was so emohonal 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 eultural 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 mbber Some say an Environmental Impact Statement should be done alongside a CMP, but I think that reasonable people ean 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 ean 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 plaee. 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? Iudge Hara's intent is for the DLNR to have a management plan in plaee 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 plaee? 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 plaee now so we ean 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 FIoor, 1005 Bishop St., Honolulu, HI 96815. 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." RichardHaisthepresidentofHāmākua Springs Country Farms in Pepe'ekeo. S

KUKAKUKA ■ CDMMUNITY FDRUM —

By Richard Ha

Atop ū snow-capped Mauna Kea, whose future is being decided under a Comprehensive Management Plan. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom