Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
WAINSCOAT
Mars-red cinder cones was taboo for the common man. Only the holiest priests and
chieftains could enter this wao akua, or realm of the Gods. To this day the basaltic
slopes are dotted with shrines, offering altars, holy sites, and hidden burial grounds.
Mauna Kea is just as sacred to the astronomical community. Topping out at 13,796 feet
(4,205 meters), the summit of this extinct volcano offers clear, dry air and steady temperatures that are ideal for infrared and visual observing. Even better, Hawaiis geographic
isolation and sparse population make light pollution practically nonexistent. Perhaps most important, the site consistently features the best at-
40
41
0
0
Waimea
190
Mauna Kea
13,796 ft.
Hualalai
8,271 ft.
200
19
KailuaKona
Mauna Loa
13,677 ft.
10 km
10 mi
19
Kilauea
4,096 ft.
11
granted statehood.
The ceded lands
Hawaii
were returned to the
ISLAND OF
Volcanoes
Nat. Park
state of Hawaii under
HAWAII
the condition that they be
placed in public trust.
In 1978 the states legislature set
11
up the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), which
gets 20 cents of every revenue dollar made on
ceded lands and in turn uses these funds to improve the conditions of native Hawaiians and
Hawaii, known as the Big
the island community at large. However, many
Island, features the largest
Hawaiians still feel that the ceded lands belong
mountain in the world.
to the people of Hawaii, not to its government.
Measured from seafloor to
Some critics argue that the 20 percent cut prosummit, Mauna Kea is
vided through OHA isnt enough, and much
33,480 feet high, 4,452 feet
more money could be realized if the islanders
taller than Mount Everest.
themselves managed the property and its rental
S&T art by Steven Simpson.
fees. They may be right. Ceded lands account for
roughly 40 percent of the states total area and
include some of its most prized property:
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Honolulu International Airport, parts of Waikiki and all
land above 12,000 feet on Mauna Kea.
42
Breaking Ground
Astronomers learned of Mauna Keas unique
seeing conditions in the early 1900s, though it
wasnt until 1963 that the late Gerard P. Kuiper
conducted the first tests to determine the mountains observing conditions. The mountaintop
is probably the best site in the world I repeat
in the world from which to study the moon,
planets, and stars, Kuiper wrote of his findings.
for the management of the mountain in February 1977. This first Master Plan tried to strike
a compromise between the various factions that
had a stake in the mountains future development. Its self-described main focus was to determine the compatibility of Mauna Keas resources to accommodate various uses without
unacceptable damage to biotic and other natural
and historic values and the visual appearance of
the mountain.
An updated version came out in February
1983. Known as the Mauna Kea Science Reserve
Complex Development Plan, it went further
than the 1977 plan in addressing a wide range of
issues, from road improvements to electrical
needs on the summit, and it addressed in more
detail how best to preserve the mountains culture, environment, and aesthetics. Endangered
arthropods, birds, and plants were noted as
being at particular risk. Mauna Kea is home to
some 25 different lichen communities, two of
them unique on Earth. Hidden in its cracks and
crevices are mosses, ferns, and other small
plants. The Palila bird (on the endangered list
since 1966) feeds on the mamane trees found
lower on the slopes.
More subtle were the 1983 plans safeguards
43
Subaru
Keck
Existing telescope
University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
United Kingdom Infrared Telescope
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
Caltech Submillimeter Observatory
James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (Submillimeter)
Very Large Baseline Array (Radio)
W. M. Keck Observatory (Keck I & II)
Gemini Telescope
Subaru Telescope
Submillimeter Array
Aperture
0.6 meter
2.2 m
3.6 m
3.8 m
3.0 m
10 m
15 m
25 m
10 m
8m
8m
12 6 m
Proposed action
On-site redevelopment (23 m)
On-site redevelopment (412 m)
On-site redevelopment (412 m)
On-site redevelopment (412 m)
On-site redevelopment (412 m)
No proposed changes
No proposed changes
No proposed changes
Add 46 1.8-m outrigger telescopes
No proposed changes
No proposed changes
Add 12 additional antennas
Proposed telescope
University of Hawaii - Hilo
Conventional optical/infrared telescope
Next generation large telescope
Aperture
1m
412 m
25+ m
Proposed action
New site
New site
New site
*Table adapted from the Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan
WILLIAM P. MULL
only $1 per year plus a one-time infrastructureimprovement fee and 10 percent of the facilitys
observing time. We needed to attract people to
Mauna Kea, says Jefferies. His plan worked.
Within a generation, IfA had become an astronomy powerhouse.
When Jefferies made his proposal in the early
1980s, there was little opposition. Astronomy
promised to bring much-needed cash flow to the
Big Island, and the IfA has backed up that claim
today salaries and other observatory expenditures pump $142 million annually into the local
economy. But for some, $142 million is pennies
compared to what could have been had the IfA
charged more for rent. Because the summit is
ceded land, the OHA and the Hawaiian people
are entitled to 20 percent of all yearly revenues
made on the mountain. Thats 20 cents per telescope.
Apart from monetary concerns, the construction of the new telescopes brought environmental nightmares. We were really upset at how the
university was treating the ecosystem, says Nelson Ho, conservation chairman of Hawaiis Sierra Club chapter. In 1994 construction brought
mounds of trash to the summit. The university
blamed the garbage on tourists, but Ho found
that 90 percent of the trash was identifiable
construction debris. Included in this were cardboard and work orders with observatory names
on them. Only after persistent complaints was
the summit cleared of debris by the university at
a cost of $20,000. Since then the problem has
not recurred.
The endangered Wekiu bug, indigenous to the
summit, has also become a focus of contentious
debate a situation similar to concerns over
the fate of red squirrels during telescope construction atop Arizonas Mount Graham in the
PATRICK MCCOY
45
46
damaged or threatened by telescope development. The university also defended its passive
cultural-protection plan recent surveys had
confirmed that none of the historic sites had
been disturbed.
But for many Hawaiians, the response was too
little, too late. The new telescopes were visible
from the shores, the Wekiu had all but been
erased, and Hawaiians felt cheated by the universitys lease deal.
Given the tensions surrounding the summit,
bringing the sides together to create the 2000
Master Plan would not be easy. All parties suddenly had a forum to air their complaints, and
to address them the universitys regents appointed a citizens committee that held public hearings across the Big Island.
A primary request by Hawaiians was to limit
the number of telescopes to be built on the
summit. With each new construction effort
comes the added risk of disturbing burial
grounds and an added impact on the already
taxed environment. But a telescope means different things to different people. Still under construction, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatorys Submillimeter Array the 13th and
final telescope allowed under the 1983 accord
47
12
90
0
13000
Natural/Cultural
Preservation Area
00
13
10
13100
Astronomy Precinct
(525 acres)
00
IRTF
133
Keck I
and II
1340
1360
Submillimeter
Array
00
CFHT
Subaru
00
134
JCMT
Puu Poliahu
Gemini North
UKIRT
Univ. of Hawaii
CSO
13300
131
Shrine
N
00
Workshop
1300
0
Unknown
Historic trail
100-ft. contours
1,000
129 ft.
0
1370
0
13300
13400
13500
48
132
00
00
133
0
1340
13500
00
132
130
S&T: STEVEN SIMPSON (SOURCE: STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES, FEB. 1999)
13
Kukahauula
0
70
13
0
0
6
13
00
135
13400
13300
Mauna Kea
Ice Age Puu Hau Kea
Natural Area Reserve
13200
13100
13000
was still incomplete, says McLaren. They wanted to enter in a dialogue [with the Hawaiians] to
reach a better relationship.
In a theme that closely echoes the first plan
written in 1977, the final draft of the 2000 Master Plan states as a primary objective the need to
preserve and manage cultural resources in a
sustainable manner so that future generations
may share in the understanding and knowledge
of the mountains archaeological and cultural
sites. Additionally, the plan seeks to protect
and preserve through planning and management, unique geological features and biological
communities, recognizing the symbiotic relationship between the two in the Science Reserve.
As approved, the new Master Plan calls for
limiting the construction on the summit by
2020 to three new telescopes and the redevelopment of many existing sites (see the table on
page 44). The telescope-counting controversy
ended as the Keck outriggers and the 24 Smithsonian viewing pads were endorsed. Also approved was a Next Generation Large Telescope
envisioned to have an aperture of at least 25
meters. Any proposed structure or construction
on the summit must now meet the approval
of the newly established watchdog organization,
the Mauna Kea Management Board, with
Stevens and the Ahahui Ku Mauna serving as its
advisers.
Of the 11,288 acres belonging to the science
reserve, 525 acres (5 percent) are now classified
as the astronomy precinct and are subject to
the aforementioned controls. The more than
10,000 remaining acres will be set aside as a
cultural and environmental preservation area.
Stevens now believes that any future decisions
will be in full consideration of what the mountain means to [Hawaiians]. They acknowledge
the sacredness.
The Sierra Club is not as enthusiastic about
the outcome. Nobody has figured out what a
billion dollars worth of development has done
to the ecosystem of Mauna Kea, says Ho. Despite the environmental provisions now in place,
he feels the document was rushed in an effort to
accommodate the native Hawaiian interests at
the expense of the environment.
The true test will come when new observatories such as the Next Generation Large Telescope
break ground. Only then will it be clear if
promises have been kept and whether Hawaiians
and astronomers can indeed share the sacred
mountain.
Sky & Telescope assistant editor David Tytell has
been to Mauna Kea three times: as an astronomer, as a
geologist, and as a journalist. The 2000 Mauna Kea
Master Plan can be found at www.hawaii.edu/
maunakea.