04-06-2015, 04:18 PM
From Vincent Keala Lucero, on Facebook;
A friend asked me the other day what the big deal was with the TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope) and why people are protesting on Mauna Kea. Let's see...
Keep in mind that our governor recently tried to appoint a pro-development lobbyist to head the Hawaii State Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), the land manager responsible for all CONSERVATION district lands.
The BLNR is required to collect "fair market" lease rents for the use of the Mauna Kea’s public lands. Currently, national and international observatories are only required to pay $1.00 per year to lease Mauna Kea’s public and ceded lands. This is unreasonable and it violates the law.
The BLNR is planning to issue the University of Hawai‘i (UH) new leases for another 65 years. The current BLNR lease is scheduled to end in the year 2033, but apparently, this date is not good enough for UH and the other observatories.
Mauna Kea Conservation District Lands are watershed, historic, environmentally and culturally sensitive lands and therefore have special protective status under Hawai‘i law. In fact, any activity that will have adverse impacts on the natural, historic and cultural resources of Mauna Kea are NOT permitted by law and BLNR is tasked with enforcing these laws. The University has already admitted that 45 years of astronomy development has resulted in "adverse, significant, and substantial impacts" to the natural and cultural resources of Mauna Kea.
In 1998, the State Auditor, found that BLNR and UH’s oversight and protections of the natural and cultural resources of Mauna Kea is inadequate to ensure the protection of natural resources. The University neglected historic preservation laws and the cultural value of Mauna Kea was largely unrecognized.
Lastly, BLNR is not fulfilling its constitutionally mandated duty to protect all rights customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes.
A friend asked me the other day what the big deal was with the TMT (Thirty Meter Telescope) and why people are protesting on Mauna Kea. Let's see...
Keep in mind that our governor recently tried to appoint a pro-development lobbyist to head the Hawaii State Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR), the land manager responsible for all CONSERVATION district lands.
The BLNR is required to collect "fair market" lease rents for the use of the Mauna Kea’s public lands. Currently, national and international observatories are only required to pay $1.00 per year to lease Mauna Kea’s public and ceded lands. This is unreasonable and it violates the law.
The BLNR is planning to issue the University of Hawai‘i (UH) new leases for another 65 years. The current BLNR lease is scheduled to end in the year 2033, but apparently, this date is not good enough for UH and the other observatories.
Mauna Kea Conservation District Lands are watershed, historic, environmentally and culturally sensitive lands and therefore have special protective status under Hawai‘i law. In fact, any activity that will have adverse impacts on the natural, historic and cultural resources of Mauna Kea are NOT permitted by law and BLNR is tasked with enforcing these laws. The University has already admitted that 45 years of astronomy development has resulted in "adverse, significant, and substantial impacts" to the natural and cultural resources of Mauna Kea.
In 1998, the State Auditor, found that BLNR and UH’s oversight and protections of the natural and cultural resources of Mauna Kea is inadequate to ensure the protection of natural resources. The University neglected historic preservation laws and the cultural value of Mauna Kea was largely unrecognized.
Lastly, BLNR is not fulfilling its constitutionally mandated duty to protect all rights customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes.