Mauna Kea emergency rule tossed

As a follow up to Friday’s court decision invalidating the emergency rule prohibiting overnight presence along the upper Mauna Kea road corridor, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) reminds people that camping in forest reserves and public hunting areas without a permit remains illegal under Hawaii Administrative Rules.

It’s not yet clear how state officials will react to the judgement, although state attorney general Douglas Chin and Board of Land and Natural Resources chair Suzanne Case warned protesters not to block roads on the mountain. “We remind people traveling to Mauna Kea that even in light of today’s ruling existing laws and rules remain”. It has always been illegal to block the road and this includes standing on the road or placing obstructions where laws will continue to be enforced.

Placing rocks or other obstacles on Mauna Kea Observatory Access road is also still prohibited. “Laws will continue to enforced”, the statement said.

The state land board passed the emergency rule after a contentious public meeting on July 10.

A statement from the governor David Y. Ige on July 14 read, “Today I signed the Land Board’s emergency rule limiting usage of the road between the hours of 10 pm and 4 am”.

The rules stated that no individual could possess particular camping items, including sleeping bags, tents, a propane burner, or a camping stone.

The Thirty Meter Telescope global Observatory announced last month that they plan to move forward with the telescope’s construction, which they project will be finished in 2024.

The motion was granted Friday afternoon by Big Island Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra.

The lawsuit that resulted in the invalidation of the emergency rule was filed by lawyer David Kauila Kopper on behalf of a state resident. The State can no longer arrest innocent people who are on Mauna Kea at night for cultural or spiritual reasons. The state tried to stop the opposition at the expense of honest cultural practices and public expression.

Native Hawaiians have taken issue with the proposed construction site because Mauna Kea’s peak is central to the creation myth of the Native Hawaiian people.

“They were privileged rules slapped together in an effort to target our specific right to openly protest, to openly protect our sacred places, our natural resources”, said Aloha Aina activist Lanakila Mangauil.