8/11/2023 0 Comments Hawaii telescope projectHowever, Chang noted that the bulk of comments about the project were largely positive during most of the public comment period.īy the last week of the comment period, there were about 50 comments in support of the project and 25 in opposition. Three of the most commonly used words in the negative comments were “sacred,” “land” and “stop,” according to data Chang presented. Other common sentiments among the negative comments included feelings of distrust toward UH, concerns for increased environmental impacts on the mountain, and a perception that UH has mismanaged the leased lands on the mountain. “About 80% (of the comments in opposition) not only oppose the new educational telescope facility at Halepohaku, but also mentioned the desire not to have any new structures or development on Maunakea.” “Most who opposed the project basically said the same thing: They would like no more development anywhere on Maunakea,” Chang said. He revealed that during the 30-day “virtual open house” when the public was invited to learn about the telescope project and submit feedback, 355 comments were submitted by community members, 212 of which were in opposition to the plan, with 139 in support and the remaining four neutral.Ĭhang said the majority of opposition was about the proposed location, with some comments acknowledging the value of the university’s teaching telescope, but adding that the location is not acceptable. Jared Chang, a planner for Honolulu consulting firm SSFM International - which conducted the university’s public outreach process - discussed the results with the board last Tuesday. The plan would coincide with the decommissioning of the University’s Hoku Kea observatory on Maunakea’s summit, which previously housed another teaching telescope that was found to be critically faulty and unusable in 2010. The project in question would construct an 18-foot-diameter dome and platform for UH-Hilo’s never-used 28-inch teaching telescope at Halepohaku to allow astronomy students hands-on observational experience.
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