Office of Mauna Kea tries to balance mountain access while honoring cultural significance

MAUNA KEA — Just off the Mauna Kea Access Road near the summit sits a sign, greeting hikers with a warm “Aloha” in big yellow letters.

The sign identifies the volcano as “historically, culturally and environmentally significant,” and asks hikers to preserve the island’s landscape and “show your respect by not hiking beyond this point to the summit.”

The sign doesn’t outright ban hiking to the summit, though, and on Friday a band of bundled up hikers could be seen making their way up the snow-covered Puu Wekiu, Mauna Kea’s highest point and what the Office of Mauna Kea Management calls the “most sacred part of Mauna Kea.”

It’s a sign, quite literally, of government efforts to balance access to public lands with respect for cultural practices that predate that government by centuries.

It can be a difficult balance to strike. Already, debate surrounding whether to build the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope on the northern plateau below the summit has thrown that $1.4 billion project into limbo.

At a place like Mauna Kea, where outdoor recreation, the pursuit of science and faith converge and, in some cases, collide, the sign is an example of officials walking a very high tightrope.

“Some hikers respect the request and do not venture further, while others ignore the sign and requests from rangers,” said Stephanie Nagata, director of the Office of Mauna Kea Management.

The sign went up in 2013 at the request of Kahu Ku Mauna, the office’s Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, said Nagata.

And though the Office and rangers are asking hikers to respect the sign, the OMKM said, there currently aren’t any plans to legally prohibit access to the summit.

“Access onto UH managed lands will always be open to the public,” Nagata said. “Rules regarding closure of the road would be for public safety reasons.”

Furthermore, a 2015 summary about proposed rules for university-managed lands explicitly states that “rules are not intended to prevent access into the Mauna Kea lands, but instead are to provide for the safe and appropriate access for all visitors.”

And history shows visitors want that access.

The trail to the summit is a popular one, said a 2010 report by the Office of Mauna Kea Management.

“Visitors are naturally drawn to the mountain summit,” stated the report, “and are also attracted by the ceremonial altar or lele that was constructed on the summit in 2002.”

Rangers counted about 2,900 people on Puu Wekiu in 2008, the most recent year data was provided in the report. That number, however, was down dramatically by about 41 percent from three years prior, the report stated. The report didn’t provide a reason for the observed drop.

In that same report, the Office said that the trail “is poorly placed and vulnerable to erosion.”

But while access is expected to remain open, OMKM is looking at some rules that could change the way residents and visitors enjoy Mauna Kea.

Public access at Mauna Kea is a part of the Office of Mauna Kea Management’s Comprehensive Management Plan, which is intended to give a framework of measures “to protect the cultural, natural and scientific resources” at areas managed by the University of Hawaii.

Access, the report explains, covers everyone who isn’t an on-duty employee of a facility at Mauna Kea, such as hikers, hunters, tourists and cultural practitioners.

In 2008, rangers at Mauna Kea counted more than 30,700 vehicles at the summit. In 2015, rangers observed about 35,300 vehicles, according to Nagata.

Under the 2015 summary of proposed rules, the office could establish a “reasonable schedule of visiting hours” and some vehicle access might be restricted.

While there are culturally significant factors to consider, there are also potential hazards to safeguard against. Proposed rules could also limit certain recreational activities that carry safety risks.

Camping, for example, wouldn’t be allowed, states the report, explaining that the remoteness and “extreme conditions” at Mauna Kea limit the capabilities of emergency responders.

There could also be limits on “snow play” for visitors who travel to the Mauna Kea when snow falls, which it did in December — a novelty that draws all the more spectators.

Mauna Kea, the report states, doesn’t have the infrastructure to support snow recreation and snowfall could hide rough, rocky terrain.

“Mauna Kea is not a ski resort, nor are ski or snow recreational contests an appropriate use of the summit,” stated the report.

As a result, they proposed banning snowboards, skis and other devices that don’t have brakes or directional control. The rules would also prohibit all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles as well as towing people on skis or sleds with a motor vehicle.

For the most part, visitors to Mauna Kea this week seemed to be OK with the proposals.

“I think it’s important wherever you go, you understand your place, what it means to be respectful, be mindful of your actions,” said Nick Jack, 23 of Hilo, while acclimating at the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station.

Jack said he’s been coming up a few times a year to Mauna Kea throughout his life and volunteers with OMKM on eradicating invasive species and planting sandalwood trees.

While he said he wasn’t really familiar with all of the rules, he had heard about plans to limit certain snow activities.

He said he’s witnessed some people on boogie boards sliding on the snow and crash.

Injuries, if any, he said, were never life-threatening, but they could be if serious enough. As a result, he said, he thinks it’s important to take certain measures to improve safety before recreation at Mauna Kea is barred entirely.

“It’s better to be proactive than reactive, in my opinion,” he said of the rules.

And in that vein, it’s important for everyone to do their part, Jack said.

“The responsibility falls on all of us to take care of what we have,” he said. “If you know you’re going to be somewhere, don’t be an idiot.”

Likewise, Belinda Notz, a 23-year-old from Germany, said she thinks restrictions on skiing and snowboarding would be a positive change.

“I think that’s dangerous,” she said of skis or snowboards at Mauna Kea.

“It’s cool to come up and enjoy the view,” she said, sitting in a truck near the summit, “but skiing is a no.”

Other commonly prohibited activities like graffiti and squatting would also be banned.

The summit at Puu Wekiu has long been considered a sacred site by some Native Hawaiians, according to the OMKM’s report.

Ancient Hawaiians, the report said, didn’t traditionally travel to the summit, considering it “kapu and the domain of the gods.”

“Only the highest of priests had reason to be in this area, which may be why there were no well-established trails to the summit until recently,” the report said.

The construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope has been opposed by some on similar grounds.

While issues of permitting and subletting have been hashed out in court and administrative hearings, the TMT International Observatory board, meanwhile, announced plans to resume construction at Mauna Kea or an alternative site in the Canary Islands in April 2018, with a decision to come as early as October.

Nagata said on Friday that after OMKM prepared the draft rules, they were reviewed by Kahu Ku Mauna and the Mauna Kea Management Board.

In October, she added, the Management Board reviewed the draft and asked the University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents to send them to the governor for authorization to hold public hearings and gather additional comments.

She noted that the law that enables UH to create rules requires any and all regulations to be consistent with rules established by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

As with any rules, they would come with penalties for noncompliance.

Under the 2015 report, violators can face removal from the volcano and a fine that ranges from $100 to $2,500 depending on the impact of the violation with steeper fines of up to $10,000 for repeat offenders.