The most common is that TMT is a danger to the Maunakea aquifer and drinking water on Hawaiʻi Island. There have been inaccurate claims made about the project recently. The project has also cleared legal challenges and was upheld in the Third Circuit Court. The Hawaiʻi County Mayor and Office of Hawaiian Affairs along with numerous unions and Hawaiʻi Island community groups have expressed support. More than 20 public hearings have been held during the process and the project has been approved by then Governor Neil Abercrombie, the UH Board of Regents and the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Over the last seven years, TMT has met all legal requirements in obtaining the necessary permits to build a next generation telescope from the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaiʻi, including a sublease from the university. The university respects everyone opposed to the TMT project and their right to a lawful protest.
THIRTY METER TELESCOPE FREE
UH is committed to the free and open exchange of ideas and affirms the rights of all individuals to engage in their first amendment right to free speech. The university is also responsible for providing safe access for everyone on the mountain: local residents, observatory personnel, cultural practitioners, visitors and UH staff. The Master Plan adopted in 2000 by the UH Board of Regents requires community based management that protects, balances, integrates and enhances Maunakea’s resources while providing a world-class center dedicated to education, research and astronomy. The university understands that Maunakea is one of the most culturally significant sites in Hawaiʻi. Through the Office of Mauna Kea Management, which reports directly to the UH Hilo chancellor, UH is responsible for the sustainable management and stewardship of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve. It will help to maintain Hawaiʻi’s worldwide leadership in astronomy. It will be able to see much fainter and more distant objects than is possible with existing telescopes and to study them in greater detail.
With a primary mirror thirty meters in diameter, the TMT will have nine times the light collecting area of the largest telescopes now on Maunakea. UH supports the TMT project because it contributes significantly to the university’s mission of advancing knowledge.
It is part of the 11,288-acre Maunakea Science Reserve that the University of Hawaiʻi has leased from the Department of Land and Natural Resources since 1968. The telescope is being built in the 525-acre Astronomy Precinct, which is the only area astronomy development can take place.
The construction phase beginning on the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project on Maunakea on Hawaiʻi Island has prompted protests and media coverage.
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