My question is..why does a lawyer from the NSF say there is no obligation to work with Native Hawaiians? (Assuming he meant Kanaka Maolis) From archives: [UHIFA’s application to the state BLNR for a conservation district use permit to build the outrigger telescopes was approved in December 2004. This triggered a lawsuit against the BLNR by Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, the Sierra Club’s Hawai’i Chapter and a Native Hawaiian with genealogical ties to Mauna Kea. In a Memorandum of Decision dated August 3, 2006, Third Circuit Judge Glenn S. Hara reversed the conservation district use permit. Most significant for the long-term future of Mauna Kea is the Judge’s finding that administrative rules governing astronomy facilities required a comprehensive management plan for the summit of Mauna Kea which sees the sacred landscape in its entirety. Judge Hara held that: “The resource that needs to be conserved, protected and preserved is the summit area of Mauna Kea, not just the area of the Project. Allowing management plans on a project by project basis would result in foreseeable contradictory management conditions for each project.” Due to funding cuts at NASA, however, the project may be cancelled entirely. In February 2006, the Keck Observatory announced that NASA’s 2007 budget includes no money to finish construction of the telescopes, despite having already spent $15-20 million on the project. The observatory plans to pursue a different source of funding, but its chances of success are unlikely. While opponents of new construction on Mauna Kea had a moment to celebrate, just a week later, they were faced with a shocking act of vandalism. The rock base and the wooden pole frame of an altar were destroyed in a deliberate act of desecration, given that the perpetrators had to climb the peak in extremely cold weather and avoid detection by workers at the observatory. Meanwhile, more telescope construction looms. The UHIFA proposes to build a Thirty Meter Telescope, 10 times more powerful than any existing telescope, and is considering locating it on Mauna Kea. To mitigate its impact, UHIFA has drawn up plans to tear down some old observatories and return the land to its original condition; however this is merely trading one site for another. UHIFA is also working with the U.S. Air Force on the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), a robotically-operated telescope designed to rapidly scan and photograph the night sky to detect asteroids or comets that could threaten Earth. UHIFA hoped that this project would meet less opposition because it would replace an old telescope instead of breaking new ground on the mountain, but native Hawaiians object to military uses of their sacred mountain. On the nearby island of Maui, the National Science Foundation announced plans to build another enormous telescope atop Haleakala. At a community meeting in May 2006, 75 residents turned out to testify against the proposal. While the NSF was willing to hear opposing opinions, its lawyer stated that it has no obligation to work with Native Hawaiians.]
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 08:30:56 +0000
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