Listening to concerns from a wide range of Department of Land and Conservation (DLNR) staffers, conservationists and Hawaiian activists, DLNR Chairman Mike Wilson rejected an Institute for Astronomy (IFA) proposal to use All Terrain Vehicles for mapping and trash pick-up activities in the summit area. Wilson recommended IFA use workers on foot to protect archeological sites and fragile ecosystems.
Mauna Kea is one of two sites being considered for a forty antenna array facility. Construction of numerous roads, powerlines and radar dish grids could disturb hundreds of acres on the undisturbed upper slopes. These areas contain Native Hawaiian religious shrines, cultural sites, artifacts, burials and the largest adze quarry in all of Polynesia.
Sierra Club was invited to participate in preliminary discussions to outline the charge and makeup of a Mauna Kea cultural and natural resources advisory council. We joined with Ka Lahui Hawaii, Life of the Land and Native Lands Institute in delineating the process in conjunction with DLNR Chairman Mike Wilson and his delegate Dr. Holly McEldowney of the State Historic Office Division.
National Geographic Magazine (1/96 issue) ran a letter regarding the recently found Wekiu bug and its summit habitat threatened by astronomical industry road and facility development. Sierra Magazine (March 96) ran an article highlighting Mauna Loa backpacking and the Mauna Kea astronomical controversy. The loss of balance regarding the conflicting uses of the summit area was the subject of a "sidebar" column.
According to Big Island Board of Land and Natural Resources representative Chris Yuen, the observatories on Mauna Kea have begun a serious effort to collect the windblown debris and litter surrounding the summit cones after 30 years of accumulation. It is anticipated that helicopters will be used to take down the many piles of debris and bulky items (including parts of observatories shredded by the strong winds).