01-28-2018, 08:04 AM
I have little knowledge of Mauna Kea's management issues; let me just pose a few observations as how some of us uninformed have viewed the matter over the decades
The astronomers just want to do their science quietly, without disruption. They have probably found the visitors to Mauna Kea mostly a nuisance: Looking for restrooms, getting stuck on the side of the road in the snow, generally driving poorly on the road, some times getting ill and needed medical help. And sometimes, on a good skiing day, too many people on the mountain, disrupting traffic.
The visitors mostly just want to drive up for a short visit--the elevation is taxing--and return downhill. Except for the hardcore skiers (and good skiing days are rare.)
Up until a few years ago, when there were not that many visitors, all this probably all worked fairly tolerably (for the astronomers).
Now there are more visitors. And native Hawaiians agitated about who is walking where (encroachment on special areas). And perhaps some environmentalists agitated about who is walking where (encroachment on special areas).
Too many visitors now and other people claiming needs for resource protection. So there will be gates and roaming guards and visitor restrictions. And eventual entry fees. And eventual designation of the mountain top (or further designation) as a park.
Not sure what any of this has to do with the astronomers or the University of Hawaii. At Volcanoes National Park there are state and federal forestry research facilities set off on their own 3/4 mile from the Volcano House. None of this has anything to do with park entrance or policies. Shouldn't Mauna Kea Management and astronomy be separate?
The astronomers just want to do their science quietly, without disruption. They have probably found the visitors to Mauna Kea mostly a nuisance: Looking for restrooms, getting stuck on the side of the road in the snow, generally driving poorly on the road, some times getting ill and needed medical help. And sometimes, on a good skiing day, too many people on the mountain, disrupting traffic.
The visitors mostly just want to drive up for a short visit--the elevation is taxing--and return downhill. Except for the hardcore skiers (and good skiing days are rare.)
Up until a few years ago, when there were not that many visitors, all this probably all worked fairly tolerably (for the astronomers).
Now there are more visitors. And native Hawaiians agitated about who is walking where (encroachment on special areas). And perhaps some environmentalists agitated about who is walking where (encroachment on special areas).
Too many visitors now and other people claiming needs for resource protection. So there will be gates and roaming guards and visitor restrictions. And eventual entry fees. And eventual designation of the mountain top (or further designation) as a park.
Not sure what any of this has to do with the astronomers or the University of Hawaii. At Volcanoes National Park there are state and federal forestry research facilities set off on their own 3/4 mile from the Volcano House. None of this has anything to do with park entrance or policies. Shouldn't Mauna Kea Management and astronomy be separate?