Protesters target Maui telescope

Emboldened by the success of the nonviolent protests against the Thirty Meter Telescope, a group has formed on Maui vowing to oppose new astronomy projects atop Haleakala.

Kako‘o Haleakala scored its first victory early Thursday when a protest vigil attended by about 200 people led to the postponement of a wide-load shipment of observatory components to the $340 million Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope under construction atop Haleakala.

"Our intention is to not only stop future deliveries (to the Inouye Telescope) but to see it dismantled," said Trinette Furtado, a leader of Kako‘o Haleakala.

Inouye Telescope officials acknowledged that while this week’s delivery was postponed, construction at the summit was not delayed because parts are delivered weeks or months in advance of their need.

Formerly known as the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, the Inouye Telescope is about halfway built at the University of Hawaii’s Science City region at the summit of the 10,000-foot Maui mountain.

When it is completed in 2019, it is expected to be the world’s most powerful solar telescope, enabling solar astronomers to gain a closer view of sunspots, flares and other solar phenomena that influence Earth.

However, the Hawaii Supreme Court is now weighing the merits of a challenge to the project’s state-issued conservation use permit. Kila­kila o Hale­akala, a small group of Native Hawaiians that has been fighting the project in and out of the courts for years, is hoping for a decision that will halt construction.

Like those battling the TMT project on Hawaii island, leaders of Kako‘o Haleakala say they’re upset construction has been allowed even while the project is being contested in court.

"Unfortunately, it appears that our state supreme court and its current deliberation on judgment for a case against (the Inouye Telescope) project means nothing to UH and its partners in their construction timeline. They continue as if everything has been done legally and with full consultation and blessing of our community," Furtado said in a news release about the vigil.

"We will continue to stand in solidarity with those atop Mauna a Wakea and in protection of Haleakala," she said.

Furtado, a Native Hawaiian born and raised on Maui, said the protest materialized after the Inouye Telescope announced the road to the Haleakala summit would be closed due to a convoy transporting an 18-foot-wide load traveling at 2 to 5 mph. The convoy was to include support vehicles and three semitruck trailers hauling the massive observatory shutters.

The project had obtained a special use permit from Haleakala National Park to allow the convoy on its narrow roads.

Furtado said that when vigil organizers put out the call for like-minded folks to join them in protest at the Central Maui Baseyard in Puunene, people came from all over the island.

"I was stunned by the amount of people who showed up," she said.

The vigil began at 8 p.m. Wednesday and ended at about 3 a.m., an hour after a supervisor announced the convoy would not be making the planned journey.

A statement issued by the Inouye Telescope in response to the protest called the event discouraging but added that it would not alter its policy of being in full compliance with the law.

"Our goal is, and has always been, to promote cooperation, reduce disruption to the public and engage all impacted communities and individuals," project manager Joseph P. McMullin said in the statement.

McMullin said the project began with a ground survey over a decade ago and has since made "concerted efforts" to address cultural and environmental impacts while consulting with local officials, Native Hawaiians and others.

"Like those who protest our facility, we too respect and value our planet, the broader universe and our shared origins. It is our hope that we can work together, respectful of one another’s differences, and mutually revere these gifts from nature," he said.

The next attempted delivery to the mountain has not been scheduled yet, officials said, adding that it will come after another public announcement.

Whenever that is, Furtado said, the group will be there to block it.