Protesters end 24-hour Mauna Kea vigil

After 176 days on Mauna Kea, the Native Hawaiians protesting the planned Thirty Meter Telescope agreed to end their 24-hour vigil Thursday and remove a large tent from their camp.

The “protectors” group reached an agreement with the state after the Department of Land and Natural Resources earlier gave formal notice that it would remove the illegal structure by 6 p.m. Thursday.

Lanakila Mangauil, one of the leaders, said the group will continue its protest during the day, but instead of camping at the 9,200-foot level near the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at night, it will trust the state to notify protesters when the TMT plans to resume construction.

Mangauil said the plan would enhance public safety on the mountain.

“It makes more sense than the stupid rule,” he said, referring to the state’s emergency rule prohibiting nighttime camping near the summit.

The protesters had been defying the rule since it was adopted by the Board of Land and Natural Resources two months ago.

Thursday’s agreement, Mangauil said, will allow the protesters to preserve resources and their health as cold weather settles back in near the summit of Hawaii’s tallest mountain.

Protesters have been camping on the mountain since March in an attempt to block construction of the $1.4 billion next-generation telescope. Construction has stalled since April, and the California nonprofit overseeing the project’s development hasn’t indicated when it will resume.

The DLNR on Thursday issued this statement: “Today in discussions with DLNR leadership, a protest leader agreed to remove the tent and to ‘lighten their presence’ on the mountain. (Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement) officers will continue to monitor for the removal of illegal structures on the mountain.”

In its notice Tuesday to the protesters, the department said structures are in violation of a state law prohibiting any construction or improvement in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and another law prohibiting activity involving the possession of a tent, tarpaulin or other obvious camping paraphernalia in the Mauna Kea Game Management Area.

Mangauil said Thursday’s agreement doesn’t mean the protesters are giving up or showing any weakening of resolve.

“We’ve achieved what we set out to do: protect and secure the mountain,” he said.

He said he has had a “dialogue” with ranking DLNR officials.

“So we’re putting the burden on them to uphold their end of the bargain,” he said.

Mangauil said officers for now agreed to leave Hale Kukiaʻimauna, the traditional Hawaiian structure standing next to the tent. State officials previously said it is illegal, too.

But Mangauil said members of the anti-TMT movement would become upset if the structure was removed. He said the hale, site of ceremonies and images of Hawaiian gods, has become a symbol of the so-called aloha aina movement.

“It would spark a massive, massive revolt,” he said of any attempt to remove it.

DLNR spokesman Dan Dennison said he couldn’t say whether or when the Hawaiian structure would be removed, reiterating that the department doesn’t discuss enforcement strategy.

Although 15 protesters have been arrested and six others cited during two enforcement actions since the emergency rule was adopted in July, DLNR conservation officers have left the camp itself in place.