Army should stop high altitude training on Mauna Kea

The Honolulu Star Advertiser editorial calls on the Army to complete a full environmental impact statement for its High Altitude Mountainous Environment Training (HAMET) on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa:

Training flights for Army helicopter crews scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan in January have been approved on Hawaii island. Nonetheless, in the wake of poorly coordinated efforts to ensure that the Army complied with state environmental laws, it makes sense for the state to seek a full environmental impact statement before future high-altitude training takes place on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Given the convoluted history of the military’s use of sensitive environmental areas, it’s a reasonable condition that could help both sides.

However, the EIS process only gives the public a chance to get information about the project and its potential impacts and to give input. The perfect EIS could still result in disastrous environmental impacts as long as the process was followed correctly. This has been the experience with the military in Hawai’i. There are no teeth for the public to actually stop an unacceptably destructive or harmful project.

The story of the military in Hawai’i is a litany of environmental disasters imposed undemocratically upon communities. The government has already predetermined the outcome of the process. The media uncritically accepts the premise:

Certainly there’s little doubt that such training for high-altitude combat in Afghanistan is currently necessary. Also, the Army has been training on the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa for years.

Why does the mainstream media not question the premise? High-altitude training supports an illegal and immoral war in Afghanistan. This training would not be ‘necessary’ if the U.S. withdrew. In the past, Army helicopter training was done without public review or hearing. The issue only came to light when forestry staff became frustrated that Army helicopters flew and landed in restricted areas in violation of temporary right of access permits.

The Army can avoid an EIS and save money, the environment and lives by stopping the HAMET trainings and withdrawing from Afghanistan.

September 9, 2011

…Yes, DLNR will let the Army violate Mauna Kea

Marti Townsend of KAHEA reported:

Another disappointing day at the BLNR.

After five hours of testimony (the majority in opposition), the Land Board voted to accept the finding of no significant impact in the final environmental assessment. The vote was:

Pacheco: No
Edlao: yes
Alia: yes
Goode: yes
Agor: yes
Gon: no

Then after that they voted to approve the right of entry permit, along the same vote lines. The logic expressed by Agor and Edlao was that it was a short time period, an EIS will be required next time, and tho there may be an impact if we limited our actions based on what “may” happen then nothing would ever happen.

Pacheco spoke strongly in support of protecting the Palila habitat. Gon spoke strongly in support doing a more comprehensive cultural impact assessment. Aila didn’t say anything.

September 8, 2011

Will DLNR approve Army helicopter training on Mauna Kea?

The staff of the State of Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources is recommending approval of an Army request for a permit to conduct high altitude helicopter training on the sacred mountain Mauna Kea. The Honolulu Star Advertiser reports:

State Department of Land and Natural Resources staff is recommending approval of a month’s worth of high-altitude helicopter training on the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa for Army pilots and crews deploying to Afghanistan in January.

The Army’s request for a “right-of-way” permit for training in October on state conservation land is scheduled to come before the Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday.

The 9 a.m. meeting will be held at the Kalanimoku building on Punchbowl Street. Acceptance of an environmental assessment, finding of “no significant impact,” and the permit for the Hawaii Island training are being sought by the Army.

[…]

The permit request is for October training only. Army officials said a decision will have to be made whether to pursue a longer-term permit for high-altitude training on Hawaii Island to include other services, such as the Hawaii National Guard.

The meeting of the DLNR will be Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 9am at the Kalanimoku Building. KAHEA and the Mauna Kea protectors have been mobilizing opposition to this plan. Testify in opposition to the helicopter training on the sacred temple Mauna Kea.

August 11, 2011

Stop the helicopter training on Mauna Kea

The Honolulu Star Advertiser article “Delay in copter-training permit will cost $8 million, Army says” talks about the environmental assessment for army High-Altitude Mountainous Environment Training. (HAMET) for helicopters. But why is it assumed that the army should naturally be allowed to encroach into ecologically and culturally sensitive areas on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa to train for an illegal war in Afghanistan? As Bianka Isaki commented on Facebook, the headline should be “Army stupidly insists on wasting $8m of taxpayer contributions on a project that cannot comply with natural resource use regulations”. Others have pointed out that the Colorado high altitude training area is the proper place to conduct such training. But the army complains about the cost of having to train in Colorado while completing a state environmental review of the project:

The Army wants to use landing zones on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa for high-altitude helicopter pilot training. A Black Hawk medevac helicopter from Wheeler Army Airfield was used in April as the Army conducted noise and ground-effects testing on Hawaii island.

The Army, which is completing a third environmental review for high-altitude helicopter training on Hawaii island, said it will have to spend $8 million to conduct most of the training in Colorado because it is running out of time to practice in Hawaii before a January deployment to Afghanistan.

[…]

The Army hopes to get state Land Board approval in September to be able to conduct high-altitude training on six landing zones on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in October before it has to ship its nearly 100 helicopters to Afghanistan in November, officials said.

Ninety pilots out of 260 would be trained in Hawaii if the state grants a “right of entry” permit for the conservation district land, according to the Army.

[…]

Opponents say the helicopter training will interfere with critical habitat for endangered species and is an affront to the sacredness of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

The latest draft environmental assessment for the Hawaii island training, released on July 23 and intended to cover both federal and state requirements, has a 30-day public comment period ending Aug. 23.

As expected, the army spokesperson cited the helicopter shot down by Taliban fighters as the need for the training:

Col. Mike Donnelly, a spokesman for U.S. Army Pacific, said the deaths of 30 Americans in a Chinook helicopter crash Saturday in Afghanistan “is a stark reminder of how important training is and the inherent risks of flying a helicopter in a combat zone.”

These troops would not have died, and this training would not be needed if the U.S. were not occupying Afghanistan.

Native Hawaiians are not happy about the military occupying and desecrating Hawaiian sacred sites:

But Hanalei Fergerstrom, a Big Island resident who opposes the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa training, said that, as a Hawaiian religious practitioner, “I’m not happy with the Army telling me they are going to fly helicopters in my temple.”

The army already controls more than 120,000 acres at Pohakuloa. Although the army is not acquiring new land, it is effectively extending its activities over a vast areas beyond their existing lands. Military activities are encroaching on protected areas. The state correctly required the army to conduct a more thorough state environmental review:

The latest problem faced by the Army in securing a permit stemmed from a state Attorney General opinion — detailed in a June 20 letter from Gov. Neil Abercrombie to Lt. Gen. Francis Wiercinski, head of the Army in the Pacific — that the Army needed to complete a state environmental assessment for the training in addition to the federal studies it already conducted.

Wiercinski said recently that the state Department of Land and Natural Resources couldn’t continue to provide individual special-use permits to the Army as it did in years past. “I understand that, because people will always take you to court on a waiver, and then everything stops,” Wiercinski said. “If you don’t do it right, it just keeps getting messed up.”

The Army now wants flights from Bradshaw Army Airfield at Pohakuloa Training Area to six existing Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa landing zones.

[…]

The Sierra Club’s Moku Loa Group said helicopters will fly over the only designated critical habitant for the endangered palila bird, a finch-billed Hawaiian honeycreeper.

The Army said in its latest report that a 2,000-foot altitude has been established to protect the palila and its habitat from planned operations.

Cory Harden, a Hawaii island Sierra Club board member, said she is sympathetic to the greater cost and time away from families with high-altitude training in Colorado, “but I’m also concerned about the impacts (on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa).”

“I share the concerns about the endangered species and the impacts to cultural practitioners and hikers,” she said. “That’s a beautiful peaceful place up there, and you have more helicopters going in and out. It destroys it.”

Given the past history of violations of conservation zones by the army, mitigation measures will be meaningless without effective oversight and enforcement.

The army seeks a permit for a Right of Entry via Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife Special Use Permit. Comments are due on August 21, 2011. See KAHEA posts here and here for more information. Send comments to:

United States Army Garrison, Hawai’i (USAG-HI), 851 Wright Avenue, Wheeler Army Airfield, Schofield Barracks, Hawai’i 96857-5000. Contact: Mr. William Rogers (808) 656- 3075

AND

Portage, 1075 S. Utah Ave., Suite 200, Idaho Falls, ID 83402. (208) 419-4176

July 26, 2011July 26, 2011

Helicopter training on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Army-Native Hawaiian convenant and more military housing

The Army wants to conduct helicopter training exercises on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Jim Albertini of Malu ‘Aina issued the following call to oppose the Army’s High Altitude Mountainous Environment Training (HAMET) on the slopes of the sacred Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The Army had conducted these helicopter training exercises in the past under temporary permits from the state. Now they are seeking a regular and permanent right of access which would also affect the endangered Palila bird . Recently, the Army had to move its helicopter training to Colorado, an existing high altitude training area, because the state required the Army to follow the law and complete an environmental review for its proposed actions which did not fit the Army’s schedule. The Army has previously violated permits and laws by recklessly landing in the protected Mauna Kea Ice Age Reserve and in other locations where it was not allowed to train. The draft environmental assessment is now out and public comments are being accepted until August 21st:

More military training on Hawaii Island for wars of aggression: Speak OUT!

“…no significant direct, indirect, or cumulative impacts on natural resources…” !!! WHO SAYS? The people, plants, animals, the aina, air, water, etc. are all interconnected. What effects one effects all. The impacts are not just physical, but cultural, psychological, and spiritual. The training proposed is all part of U.S. occupation and what the Nuremberg trials following WWII called the Supreme War crime –waging a war of aggression. We want to stop all these illegal wars. We do not want the U.S. training anywhere to do to others what the U.S. has already done to Hawaii: overthrow and occupy its government and nation, desecrate its sacred sites, and contaminate its air, land, water, people, plants, and animals with a wide range of military toxins. We want the U.S. to stop bombing Hawaii and clean up its opala (rubbish). Justice demands an end to U.S. occupation and the restoration of the Hawaii nation. And all of this being done on the slopes of the Sacred Mountains. Akua weeps.

Jim Albertini

> From Hawaii’s OEQC July 23, 2011 “The Envornmental Notice”
> http://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/Shared%20Documents/Environmental_Notice/current_issue.pdf
> High Altitude Mountainous Environment Training Draft EA

> Permits:
> Right of Entry via Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife Special Use Permit
> Proposing Agency:
> United States Army Garrison, Hawai’i (USAG-HI), 851 Wright Avenue, Wheeler Army Airfield, Schofield Barracks, Hawai’i 96857-5000. Contact: Mr. William Rogers (808) 656- 3075
> Approving Agency:
> Department of Land and Natural Resources Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl Street, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96813. Contact: William J. Aila, Jr., (808) 587-0400
> Consultant:
> Portage, 1075 S. Utah Ave., Suite 200, Idaho Falls, ID 83402. (208) 419-4176
> Status: Anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact.
> 30-day comment period begins; comments are due on August 21, 2011.
> Send comments to the Proposing Agency and the Consultant
> The proposed action is to provide 90 helicopter pilots and crew 180 hours of high altitude training in October 2011 in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan to satisfy mandatory annual training requirements. The Army’s preferred alternative consists of flying to, hovering, and touch and go landings at three (3) landing zones (LZs) located on the slopes of Mauna Kea and three (3) LZs located on the slopes of Mauna Loa. Aircraft landing in the LZs would not be picking up or dropping off troops or supplies. Aircraft will be spending a minimal amount of time in the LZ areas, and ground time should not exceed 10 minutes per landing.
>
> Familiarity with this specialized high altitude environment is critical to save the lives of our 25th Combat Aviation Brigade aircrews and the Soldiers they transport when operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Based on careful review of the analysis and conservation measures set forth in the EA and consideration of public comments received to date, implementing the Preferred Alternative would result in no significant direct, indirect, or cumulative impacts on natural resources, cultural resources, water resources, recreational resources and other resources assessed in the EA. Implementing the Preferred Alternative is not a major federal or state action that would significantly impact the quality of the environment.

Meanwhile, the Army seems to be digging in for a longer stay. In a press release “Native Hawaiian Covenant promotes partnerships”, the Army describes how it is spending a lot of money to cultivate a stable of Native Hawaiian “leaders” to support the military mission in Hawai’i and counter the opponents of military activities. The Native Hawaiian liaison office functions as a cross between glorified hospitality program and counter insurgency asset:

Through the covenant, Army civilians and Soldiers new to the islands now receive an informative briefing on the Native Hawaiian people, history and culture. This critical information gives Army individuals an opportunity to learn the culture of the community around them and be sensitive to its customs.

In addition, Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners lead free Hawaiian workshops for those interested in learning about the different aspects of Hawaiian culture. Featured workshops include hula, ukulele, lei-making, Hawaiian legends, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian healing plants and coconut weaving.

“Positive responses from Soldiers and their families have been received through these briefings and workshops we offer,” said Annelle Amaral, Native Hawaiian liaison, USAG-HI. “We have found that it not only teaches the culture, but it provides an opportunity to spend time with their families and meet new friends. To be a part of this has been truly rewarding.”

A monthly “Ho olauna” bulletin is a resource for interested Army individuals, containing Hawaiian history, a featured Hawaiian word, upcoming Hawaiian events, happenings around town, a featured dining spot and volunteer opportunities. This resource keeps readers informed and offers opportunities for them to experience life outside the Army bases.

The program is also actively constructing its own list of “approved” Native Hawaiians that can be consulted to meet various federal requirements:

Through the covenant, the Army’s cultural and natural resources representatives are leading tours of the Kahuku Training Area and Makua Military Reservation for surrounding community members.

The program is even appropriating Kanaka Maoli concepts and mining the wisdom and reputation of elders to lend support to the military’s mission:

“Right now, we’re working on a ‘hanai’ concept, where we bring our young Army families and our elderly Hawaiian aunties and uncles together for a ‘talk-story’ session. This will fill the gap for one group (of people) who miss their families, and the other group (of people) who miss the opportunity to share life-lessons they’ve learned.”

Apparently, military personnel stationed in Hawai’i are not getting the message about malama ‘aina. Recently, fishermen and cultural practitioners at Ka’ena Point documented drunken and destructive military offroading. As previously reported on this site, this is a recurring problem. We recently did an ‘Olelo television program on the problem of military off-roading and the efforts to protect Ka’ena.

Military construction is also booming. Lend Lease company recently won an extension of its contract to construct, refurbish and manage thousands of homes for military personnel.

Lend Lease has secured approval from the US Department of the Army for a US$168m (£103m) change to the scope of its Island Palm Communities project in Hawaii.

Lend Lease will now build more larger homes than previously planned, reflecting the changing needs of military service members and their families.

Island Palm Communities, a partnership between Lend Lease and the Army, is the largest residential privatisation project ever awarded by the US Army. The partnership will develop, design and construct 5,241 new homes, renovate 2,515 existing homes, and provide property and maintenance management services through to 2054.

Lend Lease group chief executive officer and managing director Steve McCann said that the increased work scope reflected Lend Lease’s collaborative working relationship with the US Army. “We continue to work very closely with our long term partner to bring quality homes to US Army service members and their families,” he said.

March 9, 2011

Colorado chopper crash cost $25.8 million

As helicopters roar overhead en route from Pohakuloa to Wheeler, I received this article about a helicopter crash in Colorado from Shannon Rudolph in Kona. The Army is proposing to do High Altitude Mountainous Environment Terrain Training (HAMET) helicopter training on the slopes of Mauna Kea, which is a bad idea all around. Mauna Kea is a sacred site to Native Hawaiians, an ecologically sensitive and protected area, and a poor location for the Army to meet its own training objectives.

The article cites an investigation of the crash that says “The investigation was also critical of the training program, designed to prepare Army pilots for Afghanistan… the program “focuses almost exclusively” on landing at high elevations even though helicopters have little need to do that in Afghanistan.”

>><<

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/09/colorado-helicopter-crash_n_833482.html

Colorado Helicopter Crash Cost U.S. Army $25.8 Million

By Dan Elliott, AP

DENVER — An Army helicopter that crash-landed during a high-altitude training mission in Colorado last year suffered $25.8 million in damage, officials revealed this week.

The replacement price for the AH-64D Longbow helicopter from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., is between $25 million and $30 million, the Army said. It wasn’t immediately known whether the Army would try to repair the aircraft.

The helicopter was attempting to land at about 12,200 feet above sea level June 30 when it crashed.

Two pilots were aboard. One suffered two broken legs, a broken nose and internal injuries. The other was treated and released.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

February 24, 2011

Please don’t build your telescope on Mauna Kea, Mr. Moore

The following letter is from Kealoha Pisciotta to Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel Corporation and a major backer of the TMT project (Stadium-sized telescope planned for Mauna Kea).

Please don’t build your telescope on Mauna Kea, Mr. Moore

An Open Letter to Intel’s Gordon Moore

Aloha Mr. Moore.

I first wish to acknowledge your great contributions as co-founder of Intel Corporation, trustee of the California Institute of Technology, and philanthropic supporter of science, as well as natural resource protection elsewhere in the world. You have given much to society, and for this, I thank you. I write today, however, regarding your financial backing of an aggressive campaign to build the world’s largest telescope—the Thirty Meter Telescope—atop Mauna Kea.

The summit of Mauna Kea is protected by state and federal laws that support conservation over development because Mauna Kea is home to rare plant and animal species found nowhere else on planet Earth, some on the brink of extinction. Astronomy, including the search for life on other planets, is a noble endeavor, but it loses its nobility if life on Earth is imperiled by those efforts.

Extinction begins the process of unraveling creation; it is forever, and it is unacceptable, especially in this day and age.

Mauna Kea is one of the most sacred places in the archipelago. Islanders use the mountain as a place of spiritual contemplation, healing and recreation. For Native Hawaiians, Mauna Kea is a temple dedicated to Aloha and peace. It is where our supreme being gave birth to all living things great and small. It was the meeting place of Papa (Earth Mother) and Wakea (Sky Father), the progenitors of the Hawaiian people, and is the burial ground of our most revered ancestors.

We use Mauna Kea’s high elevation landscape for ceremonies that contain star and other knowledge essential to modern Hawaiian voyaging. Our ancestors used this knowledge since before the time of Christ and millennia before modern astronomy, to voyage to hundreds of tiny islands spread over ten million square miles of the Pacific. More than ninety-three astronomical sites are available in the world for doing astronomy, but Mauna Kea is the only place on Earth for conducting these ceremonies.

The controversy over the TMT does not end with moral and ethical questions about culture and the environment. There are also legal issues. Caltech and the University of California have repeatedly built telescopes on Mauna Kea without complying with state or federal environmental laws, escalating the decades-long conflict between the astronomers and islanders. In the 1990’s, despite public outcry about building more telescopes, Caltech and UC (and their NASA partner) campaigned to build as many as six more “outrigger” telescopes for the Keck observatory, and the people had to turn to the courts for justice.

My organization was one of the plaintiffs, and the courts found in our favor in both lawsuits. In 2003, a federal judge ordered the Keck project to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, and in 2007 a state judge voided the Keck permit for Mauna Kea because it violated state law.

Sadly, the TMT Project perpetuates this legacy of lawlessness. As just two examples, TMT officials refuse to do a federal EIS, claiming in their state EIS that the project received no federal funds—a trigger for NEPA—despite millions in National Science Foundation funding. They’ve also ignored Hawai‘i limits on the number of telescopes allowed. Repeating the same errors the courts previously found unlawful is outrageous. Is this the legacy you wish to continue, Mr. Moore?

Aloha is not just a catchy phrase, like “it’s all good.” It’s about truth which is meant to heal. Over and over, islanders have peacefully expressed—with aloha—our concerns, yet you and your colleagues continue to push this project without following the law. Community fear and frustration are escalating, and the people now see no choice but to again challenge this lawlessness in court. Mr. Moore, you have a chance to hold the California observatories to a higher standard of Aloha. You can influence the TMT Board of Directors before they meet this month to decide the location of your telescope.

It is time to Aloha Mauna Kea, Mr. Moore.

Kealoha Pisciotta is a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner and a former Telescope

Systems Specialist for the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea. She is President of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, one of the plaintiffs in the 2007 landmark case that stopped the Keck outriggers from being built on Mauna Kea.

Please get your testimony in TODAY!!! We need it for the 2/25 hearing — mahalo!!! http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2699/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5861

February 24, 2011August 3, 2015

Protect Mauna Kea

Eyes of the He’e

Courtesy TMT International Observatory

Mauna Kea, the sacred mountain of Wakea and Poliahu is again threatened by plans to construct a giant telescope there. The so-called Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) would be the largest telescope in the world and a desecration to one of the most sacred temples in Hawai’i and across the Pacific.

Aerospace and astronomy programs have had a long and incestuous relationship with the military. On Haleakala there is a prototype of the Air Force PanSTARRS telescope and the Maui optical tracking station for missile defense testing. The larger full-size PanSTARRS is being proposed for Mauna Kea. The TMT project is ostensibly a civilian venture, but it is part of the aerospace-military complex that has taken over the peaks of many of our mountains in Hawai’i, from Makaha ridge and Koke’e on Kaua’i, to Ka’ena, Ka’ala and Palehua on O’ahu to Haleakala on Maui and Mauna Kea on Hawai’i. These are the giant eyes of the monstrous military he’e (octopus) in Hawai’i.

There will be a critical hearing of the Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday, 2/25 at 9:00 am at the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St. to decide if the University of Hawai’i will be granted a permit to build in conservation district. See the action alert from Kahea below. You can submit testimony online from their website: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2699/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5861

If you can attend the hearing on Friday, please turn out to express your opposition to this desecration of a sacred mountain. Holding the hearing on O’ahu is a way to exclude the Hawai’i island community that has been most organized against this project.

>><<

No More Bulldozers on Mauna Kea

The construction permit for the massive Thirty Meter Telescope complex will be considered by the Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday, February 25, 2011.

The TMT Corporation and the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents are proposing to build a new massive, 18-story telescope, 21,000 square foot office building, road, and parking lot on undeveloped land on Mauna Kea’s summit, called the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT).

Mauna Kea is unique in the world, a place of deep significance in the Hawaiian worldview, and home to rare Hawaiian plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet. Mauna Kea was honored among the sacred places of the world in a National Geographic (January 2011) Special Edition titled, “The Earth’s Holiest Places: Sacred Journeys.”

The TMT needs a construction permit approved by the Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources (Land Board) before any bulldozers can be sent up the mountain.

We think there is a real chance this permit could be denied, but we also know there is a lot of pressure from developers to approve it. This is the last major permit developers need to begin construction on this 18-story, 8-acre development.

Join hundreds of people from around the islands! Urge the Land Board Members to reject this permit application, and take true, strong steps to protect the future of Mauna Kea. Submit your testimony today! Your voice matters, especially when it is in your own words — if can, please take a minute to write a few sentences to make your testimony unique and the more effective. Thanks!

Background

What’s Going On?

The University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents and the TMT Corporation are proposing to build a new massive,18-story telescope, 21,000 square foot office building, road, and parking lot–called the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT)–on undeveloped conservation and “ceded” lands on Mauna Kea.

This telescope is the largest ever proposed for Mauna Kea, and, if built, would be the second largest in the world.

Mauna Kea is unique on earth, a place of deep significance in the Hawaiian worldview, and home to rare Hawaiian plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet. Mauna Kea was honored among the sacred places of the world in a National Geographic (January 2011) Special Edition titled, “The Earth’s Holiest Places: Sacred Journeys.”

Mauna Kea is wao akua, wahi pana and dwelling of Wakea. Mauna Kea is also “ceded” crown lands, and conservation lands protected in the Conservation District.

Wrong for the Mountain

It is clear that the law doesn’t allow for this level of industrial development on conservation lands, like Mauna Kea. Hawaii Administrative Rules (13-5-30(c)) outlines criteria that must be met before construction can be allowed on conservation lands in Hawaii.

The most telling for us are the middle three criteria, which state:

“4. The proposed land use will not cause substantial adverse impact to existing natural resources within the surrounding area, community, or region;

5. The proposed land use, including buildings, structures and facilities, shall be compatible with the locality and surrounding areas, appropriate to the physical conditions and capabilities of the specific parcel or parcels; [and]

6. The existing physical and environmental aspects of the land, such as natural beauty and open space characteristics, will be preserved or improved upon, whichever is applicable;”

The TMT can’t satisfy these criteria. This development (18 stories, 8 acre construction footprint) would multiply industrial land use on Mauna Kea, forever altering the natural beauty and sacred vista of the northern plateau.

Construction will impact fragile habitats of native plants and animals found only on Mauna Kea, with no guarantee of restoration when the lease term ends, in a mere 21 years.

How big is it?

– 184 ft. tall (18 stories), plus 20 ft. below ground
– Construction footprint: over 8 acres disturbed
– Completed structure footprint: over 5 acres
– Average American football field is 1.32 acres
– Telescope: 34,000 sq. ft.
– Support and office building: 21,000 sq. ft.
– Will excavate 64,000 cubic yards of summit area
– Will add 3,400 ft of new road, using excavated dirt to level it

What impact will it have?

– Construction proposed for the northern plateau, some of the last undeveloped area on the summit
– Structure will interrupt viewplane to Haleakala
– Will be visible from 14% of the island, including Waimea Park, Puu Kapu & Waawaa, Honokaa, & Puukohala
– Current telescopes are visible from 43% of the island
– Telescope operations will create 74 dbA of noise
– Will produce 120-250 cubic feet of solid waste a week
– Will use 5,000 gallon underground tank to store waste, including hazardous chemicals

The Final EIS for the project admits that telescope construction has had a substantial adverse impact on the natural and cultural resources of the conservation district on the summit. Here is a link to the developers’ description of the TMT: www.tmt.org.

Of course, the University Board of Regents sees the proposal as a done deal. The developers of this project have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in a massive PR campaign, assuring us that TMT will have little impact on the summit and that past problems with resource management have been fixed. But we know that this is not so.

Forty Years of Mismanagement

Forty years ago, the people of Hawaii agreed to share our highest and most sacred summit with a small community of UH astronomers–on the promise of protection and stewardship for fragile alpine habitats, endemic native species, and sacred cultural landscapes. Sadly, the promise to malama (care for) our sacred summit remains unfulfilled.

Today, the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, several foreign governments, the U.S. federal government and military, and various development corporations have built or proposed to expand the footprint of industrial land use in the Mauna Kea conservation district.

The footprint of roads, buildings, parking, and ever-larger telescope complexes has grown and prospered, while natural and cultural resources have been irreplaceably lost, desecrated and destroyed. Today, even more development is proposed.

Mauna Kea is:

– Wao Akua, dwelling of Wakea

– Home of Poliahu and her sisters

– Used by cultural practitioners today

– Conservation district lands

– Above the main aquifer for the island

– “Ceded” crown lands

– Home to endemic native plants and animals,many found nowhere else on the planet

“For it is here that the very life breath can be seized in a moment never to return. It is only here that the life-giving waters originate. Only here do the heavens open so that man can be received, blessed, freed and transformed in the ways of Heaven.”

– from “Mauna Kea — The Temple”, Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Heiau Helu Elua, and Mauna Kea `Anainahou

Better Solutions Proposed, A Better Future Possible

We are asking for simple, common sense solutions for Mauna Kea, including: independent management (where developers do not approve their own projects), appropriate limits on development footprint based on study of summit carrying capacity, and appropriate compensation to the people of Hawai`i for past development.

Learn more

View, download and share the fact sheet on the Thirty Meter Telescope at http://bit.ly/TMTfactsheet or view and share it on Scribd.

See the Action Alert on KAHEA’s Blog

Learn more about Mauna Kea and efforts to protect conservation lands on Hawai`i’s sacred summits from industrial development and military land use.

February 7, 2011February 9, 2011

Army clarifies its helicopter training operations for Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa

The Army must have been worried by the strong outcry against its proposed helicopter training on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. They issued the following press release to “clarify” its plans. Regardless of how the Army spins their intent, the public is clear that the HAMET is an expansion of military activity into a conservation area and a sacred site. While the Army plans do not seek to acquire additional land, it proposes to use public lands and airspace to conduct these new helicopter training in high altitude locations on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. With 133,000 acres of Hawaiian land already occupied by the military at Pohakuloa, the community will not tolerate any further expansion.

>><<

http://www.hawaii247.com/2011/02/02/army-clarifies-its-helicopter-training-operations-for-mauna-kea-and-mauna-loa/

Army clarifies its helicopter training operations for Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa

Posted on 10:13 am, Wednesday, February 2, 2011.

MEDIA RELEASE

WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii – The U.S. Army‟s 25th Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) and U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii are reviewing the aviation training plan in response to comments, received from the Big Island community, on the proposed use of several landing zones on the slopes of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Issues arose this past week after several stories ran in island newspapers questioning what was perceived to be the Army‟s new requirement for land expansion and possible restrictions to the residents and visitors around Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Public input was received during the 30-day comment period that is as part of the environmental assessment process in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969.

“The Army has no additional land expansion requirements and will impose no restrictions on anyone as a result of this revised environmental assessment,” said COL Frank W. Tate, commander of the 25th CAB. “The only land that will be impacted by the proposed Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa alternatives from this life-saving training is the pre-existing, 150 foot by 150 foot landing zones that we used from 2004 to 2007.”

The Army is taking full responsibility for what‟s being called “miscommunication” and looks forward to clearing up any confusion that it may have caused. The concern stems from specific graphics found in the environmental assessment showing large areas of the map depicting possible flight paths but labeled “project area” on the map‟s legend.

This caused significant concern of some Big Island residents, assuming the Army training would require more land.

“The graphics were not clear in what they portrayed,” said Tate. “They designate airspace, not land use, and they were designed to show that by utilizing those routes, we mitigate noise and any impact to the environment or the people on the Big Island.”

“The Aviation Brigade needs to utilize the small areas that the landing zones are on, nothing more,” said Col. Michael D. Lundy, deputy commander, 25th Infantry Division, referring to the previously mentioned 150 square foot landing zones. “We have a great partnership with the people of Hawaii and the last thing we want is to restrict them or disrupt their daily lives with our training.”

The aviation training in question is High Altitude Mountainous Environmental Training (HAMET). As part of the proposed action one of the alternatives requires that the CAB will use the same three landing zones on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa it used to train for a previous deployment to Afghanistan in 2004. The landing zones provide a realistic, rugged landscape that will match the altitudes, environmental conditions such as turbulence and wind shear that the 25th CAB pilots will face during an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. The CAB‟s pilots will have to operate in these demanding conditions while transporting life-saving equipment and troops to the frontlines of the Global War on Terror.

Another concern raised in reaction to the proposed assessment was the massive number of helicopters that would be filling the skies over the mountains. 25th Infantry Division Officials say that‟s simply not the case. “The original document poorly portrayed what the division wanted to do, and that‟s our fault,” said Maj. Dave Eastburn, a spokesperson for the 25th Infantry Division.

“The fact is, during this training, you‟ll only see two to four helicopters in the air at any given time. Additionally, the entire Brigade can be trained over the course of three, 15 day exercises, not including holidays or weekends as to not disrupt residents or visitors to the island,” Eastburn continued.

“The Army is committed to open decision-making to build the necessary community trust that sustains the Army in the long term and the NEPA process helps to facilitate that,” said William Rogers, U.S. Army Garrison NEPA program coordinator. “We advertised the proposed action in the local news papers and mailed the documents to the local libraries and agencies for review and comment.”

“The feedback was tremendous and we are currently considering all comments received. We are in the early stage of our review process and will keep the public informed”.

The commander of the Aviation Brigade is optimistic that the changes they are implementing now will allow training to be conducted in a manner that satisfies all interested parties. “I look forward to making this training a reality once again because the bottom line is: this training will save lives,” said Tate.

January 18, 2011

High-Altitude Mountainous Environmental Triaing (HAMET) on Mauna Kea criticized

Hawai’i island activist Cory Harden reports that the Mauna Kea Management Board was sharply critical of the Army’s High-Altitude Mountainous Environmental Training (HAMET) environmental assessment. Mahalo to Cory for sharing her comments on the Army’s Environmental Assessment for High-Altitude Mountainous Environmental Training on Mauna Kea:

Comments Re: Environmental Assessment (EA) for High-Altitude Mountainous Environmental Triaing (HAMET)

at Pohakuloa, December 2010

for Mauna Kea Management Board meeting 10 AM Tuesday, January 18, 2011

by Cory Harden, Box 10265, Hilo, Occupied Hawai’i 96721 8080-968-8965 mh@interpac.net

Please call for a Federal Environmental Impact Statement. The Army wants to start training next month, but the EA has many shortcomings.

ALTERNATIVES

The EA does not fully explore the alternative of training in Colorado, where a train-the-trainer course for HAMET is already available. [p. 2-13]

SCOPE

An “exercise would include up to three flights [of one or two aircraft] per mountain [Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa], running continuous operations for up to 18 hours for each 24-hour period.” Helicopters would fly 1,500 to 2,000 hours each year. LZs (landing zones) are at 8,000 to 12,000 feet. [p. 2-8]

LZs were already constructed under special-use permits [p. 2-8], not an EIS, so we may never know the full impacts. Helicopters have been already landing on Mauna Kea for seven years with little public oversight. Helicopters expand military training beyond Pohakuloa Training Area into the State Conservation District.

SAFETY

The EA says crashes are “unlikely” [p. 4-12] and “…the CAB (Combat Aviation Brigade) has had zero accidents related to flight at high altitude, both in theater and at garrison” [p. 2-7]

There is no mention of three fatal military helicopter crashes in fifteen years on O’ahu

2009– two pilots died in a Kiowa crash and fire. [1]

2001– six soldiers died when two Black Hawks crashed at night. [2]

1996– two soldiers died when a Cobra crashed. [2]

The EA describes no plans for

Crashes
Fires
Releases of fuel or other hazardous substances
High winds, clouds, or fog
Landings outside of LZs (landing zones) due to mistakes or emergencies, such as the landing near the adze quarry, inside the Natural Area Reserve, in November 2003

People hike and camp at some of the pu’u that will be used as LZs. How will they be warned about helicopters, especially at night?

CULTURE

The Army says noise and visual impacts on cultural practices and recreation will be insignificant. Would they say the same it was Machu Picchu?

An EA map shows a high density of cultural and historic sites–but only inside the Science Reserve boundary. There may be a similar density of undiscovered sites outside the boundary. [map D-8]

[1]Team to investigate Kiowa crash that killed 2, Honolulu Advertiser, 5-29-09

[2] Six die in crash of Army copters, Star-Bulletin, 2-13-01

There are four mounds about 100 feet from LZ-6 believed to be prehistoric Hawaiian features. (And a fifth nearby.) The EA should have a thorough survey, a literature review, and oral history documentation.

[p. 3-31]

Mounds and rock enclosures near the LZs appear on Google maps, but not the EA maps.

The Humu’ula trail and other trails are missing from EA maps. The EA does not describe present day use of these trails.

Kepa Maly’s extensive cultural/ oral history review for Mauna Kea is not referenced.

There is no mention of the illegal takeover of the nation of Hawai’i in the cultural overview. [p. 3-29]

BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES

There are seven listed wildlife species, and eight plants, that are confirmed, may occur, or have potential habitat in the project area. [p. 3-23 to 3-24]

The EA admits there is no information on wildlife population densities near the landing zones and flight paths. [p. 3-22]

The EA says studies would be needed to evaluate wildlife reactions to helicopter noise, but mentions no plans for studies.[p. 4-12]

“Information on the range of the Hawaiian hoary bat or ‘ope‘ape‘a…was not available at the time of this assessment, but the USFWS biological opinion for PTA states that the Hawaiian hoary bat does occur on PTA…” [p. 3-26]

Flight paths are over palila critical habitat and over hammerhead bird habitat. Both species are on the Federal and State endangered list. Effects of noise and vibration on breeding and rearing success is not analyzed, and mitigation is not described in detail. [p. 4-10 ff]

Wekiu bugs live in loose cinders without dust. Rotor wash will probably blow dust into cinders, and landings will probably compact cinders.

Helicopters will land on pu’u with fragile ecosystems.

A helicopter hovered too low over critical habitat in early 2006. [p. 2-7]

The EA says cleaning and mitigation measures will minimize impacts from invasive species, but gives no specifics. [p. 4-12]

NOISE

Noise is only analyzed as averages over 24 hours. [p. 4-24] Effects of intermittent loud noise, plus vibration, are not analyzed.

VIEWS

The EA says impacts would not be significant partly because the area isn’t “used by…large numbers of people.” [p. 4-25] By this logic, it’s acceptable to flood wilderness areas with helicopters.

Day training would impact views. Night training would impact star-gazing for locals, tourists, and perhaps observatories.

There are no viewplane maps showing where people will see helicopters.

CONSULTATION

11 of the 17 people on the consultation list are military.

One person on the list apparently was not consulted (Stephanie Nagata).

One never formally commented (State Historic Preservation Division) [p. 4-19, pp. 7-1 to 7-3]

Cultural practitioners, lineal families associated with the area, hunters, hikers, and others who use the area were not consulted.

CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

The EA cites numerous projects with serious impacts—observatories, Strykers, adding Keamuku to Pohakuloa, Saddle Road construction, the current Pohakuloa Modernization project—but says cumulative impacts with helicopters added would not be significant. [p. 5-10 to 5-12]

AIRSPACE CONFLICTS

The EA does not go into detail re. impacts on air tours from closing airspace. [p. 4-31 to 4-32]

SPECIFICS MISSING

The EA does not say when training will occur, except for sometime between February and August 2011, and perhaps through February 2012. [p. 2-7 to 2-8]

The EA does not identify the type of permit used in past, nor the State department that issued it. [p. 2-6]

The EA does not specify mitigations requested by DLNR (State Department of Land and Natural Resources) after the 2003 landing in the NAR.

Photos of LZs don’t show all of them, and don’t identify which LZs are shown. [pp. B-9 to B-13]

The EA quotes the UH (University of Hawai’i) CMP (Comprehensive Management Plan)—but the CMP covers a different geographical area.

Cory Harden

PO Box 10265

Hilo, Hawai’i 96721

mh@interpac.net

808-968-8965