State conservation officers arrested eight protesters on Mauna Kea early Wednesday morning in only the second enforcement action since the Board of Land and Natural Resources enacted a new emergency rule prohibiting camping on the mountain two months ago.

State Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers arrested seven women and a man protesting the Thirty Meter Telescope in a camp across the road from the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at the mountain’s 9,200-foot level.

The seven women returned to the summit Wednesday to pose for social media photos, with one of them posting that the arrests only made their commitment to protect the mountain stronger.

“We will stand forever,” Hawane Rios said in a Facebook video shot near the visitors center. “We are not going anywhere.”

The only other emergency rule enforcement action saw officers arrest seven people and cite six others on July 31.

In between those dates, a small group has maintained a round-the-clock vigil near the visitors center aimed at what they describe as protecting the sacred mountain against the desecration of TMT work crews, which were repelled on two occasions in April and June.

Meanwhile, construction on the $1.4 billion next-generation telescope — originally planned to begin in April — remains stalled in the face of the protests.

Responding to questions from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Gov. David Ige’s office said state officials continue to work on a plan that will allow telescope construction while ensuring the safety of the protestors, the TMT workers and others involved.

“The state continues to do its due diligence, gathering information and weighing all options to ensure the plan is well thought-out with public safety as the top priority,” spokeswoman Jodi Leong said in an email.

Any renewed thought to deploying the National Guard or to taking any other extraordinary steps to allow for construction?

“Not at this time,” she said.

There is currently no timetable, and the fact that the state Supreme Court is considering an appeal of the project’s Conservation District Use Permit has no bearing on enforcement, Leong said. She added that it’s up to TMT to decide when to commence construction again.

The TMT International Corp. couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, but last week a spokesman said no construction start date has been scheduled.

As far as the emergency rule is concerned, the state can exercise its right to enforce the law at any time deemed necessary, said Joshua Wisch, special assistant to the state attorney general.

Wisch declined to discuss the strategy behind the irregular enforcement, saying only that the state doesn’t announce such actions ahead of time.

Doug Simons, director of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, another observatory atop Mauna Kea, said he’s looking for consistency when it comes to enforcing the state’s emergency rule.

“My priority is the safety of Maunakea Observatory staff,” Simons said via email, using the astronomy community’s preferred single-word spelling for the mountain. “The protesters have demonstrated the will and means to block the summit access road on very short notice. This tactic effectively traps staff above the roadblock and leaves an unacceptable safety risk in the event of an emergency medical evacuation from the summit.”

On June 24, protesters placed rocks and boulders in the Mauna Kea Observatory Access Road, a tactic that blocked TMT work crews but also prevented Mauna Kea observatory workers from being able to descend from the mountain.

The action led to the state enacting the 120-day emergency rule, which went into effect on July 14. The rule prohibits camping on the mountain and restricts access to the summit access road between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Simons said it’s important to respect the protesters’ constitutional right to assemble and speak.

“It is equally important that existing laws be enforced, as a matter of principle. Consistency is critical, regardless of the context in which laws are enforced,” he said.

Richard Ha, a banana farmer and member of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, said the summit road is certainly vulnerable, but that the state appears too tentative in enforcing the emergency rule and taking control of the road.

“Not being decisive can cause a potential disaster,” he said. “If you allow people to be up there, willing to break the law, then you could end up with a volatile situation, and then lives could be threatened.”

Ha said the governor should consider calling in the National Guard to maintain the safety of everyone concerned and to allow the TMT to be built.

On Wednesday morning authorities took the eight people arrested to the Hawaii County jail in Hilo for processing.

It was the second arrest for one of the protesters, 23-year-old Bronson Kobayashi of Hilo, whose bail was set at $1,000.

The others arrested were first-timers, with bail set at $250. They were Sandy Kamaka, 46, of Kailua-Kona; Hawane Rios, 36, of Waimea; Jennifer Leina‘ala Sleightholm, 41, of Waikoloa; Shanell Subica, 43, of Kailua-Kona; Kuuipo Freitas, 26, of Kona; Patricia Ikeda, 65, of Captain Cook; and Ruth Aloua, 26, of Kailua-Kona.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, whose trustees were meeting Wednesday on Hawaii island, issued a statement condemning the arrests and urging the state to cease further enforcement until legal questions relating to the Mauna Kea emergency rule are resolved.

“It is our understanding that the individuals were arrested this morning while they were in the act of pule, or prayer. Native Hawaiians have constitutionally protected rights to reasonably engage in traditional and customary practices, and regulations cannot eliminate the exercise of these rights. We hope for a resolution that ensures our beneficiaries’ rights are protected instead of violated,” the statement said.