---
title: "Thirty Meter Telescope protests"
chunk: 2/6
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Meter_Telescope_protests"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:34:21.595573+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Observatory opposition ===
Although polls, some of them highly criticized, indicate that a majority of Hawaii residents support the Thirty Meter Telescope, opposition to the project and other observatories has existed since 1964. In Honolulu, the governor and legislature, enthusiastic about the development, set aside an even larger area for the observatory causing opposition in the city of Hilo. Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners kānaka ʻōiwi believed the entire site was sacred and that developing the mountain, even for science, would spoil the area. Environmentalists were concerned about rare native bird populations, and other citizens of Hilo were concerned about the sight of the domes from the city. Using town hall meetings, Jefferies emphasized the economic advantage and prestige the island would receive. Over the years, the opposition to the observatories may have become the most visible example of the conflict science has encountered over access and use of environmental and culturally significant sites. Opposition to development grew shortly after expansion of the observatories commenced. Once access was opened up by the roadway to the summit, skiers began using it for recreation and objected when the road was closed as a precaution against vandalism when the telescopes were being built. Hunters voiced concerns as did the Hawaiian Audubon Society who were supported by Governor George Ariyoshi.
The Audubon Society objected to further development on Mauna Kea over concerns to habitat of the endangered palila, an endemic species to only specific parts of this mountain. The bird is the last of the finch billed honeycreepers existing on the island. Over 50% of native bird species had been killed off due to loss of habitat from early western settlers or the introduction of non native species competing for resources. Hunters and sportsmen were concerned that the hunting of feral animals would be affected by the telescope operations. None of these concerns proved accurate. A "Save Mauna Kea" movement was inspired by the proliferation of telescopes with opposition believing development of the mountain to be sacrilegious. Native Hawaiian non-profit groups such as Kahea, whose goals are the protection of cultural heritage and the environment, oppose development on Mauna Kea as a sacred space to the Hawaiian religion. Today, Mauna Kea hosts the world's largest location for telescope observations in infrared and submillimeter astronomy. The land itself is protected by the US Historical Preservation Act due to its significance to Hawaiian culture but still allowed development.

=== Outrigger and Thirty Meter Telescope proposals ===
Further development of the Mauna Kea observatories is still opposed by environmental groups and some Native Hawaiians. A 2006 proposal for the Outrigger Telescopes to become extensions of the Keck Observatory was canceled after a judges determination that a full environmental impact statement must be prepared before any further development of the site. The "outrigger" would have linked the Keck I and Keck II telescopes. Environmental groups and Native Hawaiian opposition was stronger at this time than in the past, but NASA continued with the proposal. The group Mauna Kea Anaina Hou made several arguments against the development including that Mauna Kea was a sacred mountain to Native Hawaiians where many deities  live, and that the cinder cone being proposed as the site was holy in Hawaiian tradition as a burial site for a demi-god. The group raised several other concerns such as environmental over native insects, the question of Ceded lands and an audit report, critical of the mountain's management.

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a proposed extremely large, segmented mirror telescope, planned for the summit of Mauna Kea. It is now the focal point of further development of the observatory site, with a current ongoing legal battle in the Hawaii court system. The proposal continues to spawn a great deal of controversy over the use of the site for science.
The TMT project is a response to recommendation in 2000 from the US National Academy of Sciences that a thirty-meter telescope be a top priority, and that it be built within the decade. Urgency in construction is due to the competitive nature of science with the European-Extremely Large Telescope also under construction. The two projects are also complementary, in that the EELT would only view the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, while Mauna Kea offers the best views of the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. However, Mauna Kea's summit is considered the most sacred of all the mountains in Hawaii to many Native Hawaiian people. Native Hawaiian activists such as Kealoha Pisciotta, a former employee of the Mauna Kea Observatories, have raised concerns over the perceived desecration of Mauna Kea posed by TMT construction and presence. Pisciotta, a former telescope systems specialist technician at James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, is one of several people suing to stop the construction and is also director of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou.
As of April, 2015, two separate legal appeals were still pending.
The 1998 study Mauna Kea Science Reserve and Hale Pohaku Complex Development Plan Update stated that "... nearly all the interviewees and all others who participated in the consultation process (Appendices B and C) called for a moratorium on any further development on the summit of Mauna Kea". Many native Hawaiians and environmentalists are opposed to any further telescopes.
The Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources conditionally approved the Mauna Kea site for the TMT in February 2011. While the approval has been challenged, the Board officially approved the site following a hearing on April 12, 2013.

=== Indigenous peoples rights ===
The issue of Native peoples, their religious freedom and rights in regards to authority for large science-based projects has become a major issue to contend with. Mount Graham in Arizona had an issue with the sanctity of the mountain raised by activists. Observatories have succeeded in being built, but only after protracted and expensive litigation and effort.

== Blockade and protests ==