Applicants sought for new Mauna Kea oversight authority

Applicants are being sought to serve on the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority.

Gov. David Ige and leadership from the state Senate and House made the announcement for the oversight group this week and asked applicants to apply by Thursday. Members will be appointed to three-year terms and tasked to manage Mauna Kea Lands.

The 11 voting members will include the Board of Land and Natural Resources chairperson, the Hawaii County mayor, and the University of Hawaii board of regents chairperson or representatives for those positions.

“I encourage people who have the expertise and commitment needed to shift to a community-based governance model for one of the state’s great natural resources to apply as quickly as possible. Together, we can continue Hawai‘i’s momentum toward a strong and sustainable future,” said Ige in a statement.

The Senate will confirm the other members of the authority, who will have different backgrounds. The other members include an individual with land resource management expertise and experience with Hawaii island management; an individual with business and finance expertise who has previous administrative experience managing a large private-sector business; a lineal descendent of a practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices associated with Mauna Kea; a recognized practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices; and two governor-appointed members from a list of candidates submitted by the Senate and House.

The authority was established by the signing of Act 255 this year.

“This new authority has the enormous task of laying the groundwork for a new management structure atop Mauna Kea, and we need dedicated, passionate individuals applying to sit in these critical positions,” said Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, chair of the Senate Committee on Education.