Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 9, 1 May 2009 — OHA trustees err in supporting CMP [ARTICLE]

OHA trustees err in supporting CMP

The OHA Board of Trustees (BOT), rather than adopting its legal affairs staff's and Administrator's recommendations that called for greater protections of Mauna Kea, instead ignored those reconunendations and voted to support the University of Hawai'i's "Comprehensive Management Plan" whieh, arguably, does not fully protect Mauna Kea. The OHA staff did not support the UH plan because it would allow UH to: (1) restrict public access, (2) determine what is culturally "appropriate," (3) require Native Hawaiian practitioners to get permits to worship and (4) allow many more telescopes to be built on Mauna Kea. To add further add insult to injury, the BOT even supported UH's eontinued practice for the observatories to pay only $1 per year in lease rent for the use of oiu lands. Mauna Kea is made up entirely of so-called "ceded lands," whieh the law (Section 171, Hawai'i Revised Statutes) requires ("fair market lease") rents to be eollected from foreign corporations and nations using Mauna Kea's lands. We are unclear why the BOT opts to diminish well-established laws including those laws that protect public access, Native Hawaiian gathering and access rights and the charging of fair market lease rent (whieh would also benefit OHA). These laws, no matter what promises the UH and its hired public relations firm, Ku'iwalu, elaim, need to be complied with. We believe the BOT owes its beneficiaries an explanation for its recent actions. Clarence Kā (hing culfural practitioner, OHA īrustee 1986-1990 Paul Neves Royal Order of Kamehameha I Kealoha Pisciotta and Keo Van Gogh Mauna Kea Anaina Hou

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