{"id":198706,"date":"2024-06-02T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T18:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=198706"},"modified":"2024-06-03T11:07:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T21:07:31","slug":"maunakea-1st-telescope-decommissioning-complete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/06\/02\/maunakea-1st-telescope-decommissioning-complete\/","title":{"rendered":"Maunakea: 1st telescope decommissioning complete"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Hoku
H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> Observatory was located on the southeast side of the summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A historic milestone on the summit of Maunakea\u2014the first observatory on the summit has been completely removed and the site restored. The decommissioning of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo<\/a>\u2019s H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> Observatory was completed in May 2024, and the area will be monitored over the next three years to assess species population and diversity.<\/p>\n

\"Crane
Deconstruction phase<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once the decommissioning of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO<\/abbr>) is completed later this year, UH<\/abbr> will have honored the commitment made to the UH<\/abbr> Board of Regents in 2023<\/a> to remove two telescopes before the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority (MKSOA<\/abbr>) assumes full management of the summit lands by July 1, 2028. The UH<\/abbr> Hilo Center for Maunakea Stewardship<\/a> (CMS<\/abbr>) jointly manages Maunakea with MKSOA<\/abbr> and is overseeing both decommissioning projects.<\/p>\n

“Maunakea warrants the highest levels of stewardship, and we remain steadfast in our collaborative efforts to honor and protect the cultural and environmental significance of this ʻ\u0101ina,” said UH<\/abbr> Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. “The removal of H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> reflects the university\u2019s ongoing pledge to reduce the presence of telescopes on Maunakea.”<\/p>\n

Management plan guided process<\/h2>\n
\"Restored
Construction crews also completed the restoration of the site<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The decommissioning work began in April and cost approximately $1 million. The deconstruction of two buildings and the associated infrastructure and site restoration were done in accordance with the decommissioning process required by the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan.<\/p>\n

“The process to remove H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> and CSO<\/abbr> is being done in a way that is pono to this special place as the construction crews received training on Maunakea\u2019s history, cultural significance, environmental and cultural resources, and health and safety,” said CMS<\/abbr> Executive Director Greg Chun. “A ceremony was conducted prior to the deconstruction phase and will be conducted again at the project\u2019s conclusion and restoration phase.”<\/p>\n

Prayers and Native Hawaiian protocol opened and closed each work day. Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island resident Karl Halemano oversaw both construction and cultural monitoring on site throughout the decommissioning. Morning protocol led by Halemano included E Ala \u0112, a chant that welcomes the day.<\/p>\n

“We would go up to the site and we would have a pule, oli mele or just oli and we would start our day so that way we can move forward with a sense of spirituality, the importance of the work we\u2019re doing up there,” Halemano said.<\/p>\n

It took 6 dump trucks and 9 trailer loads to remove the debris after the structures were taken down. Fill that had been stored at the summit from when the observatories were first built was used for the site restoration.<\/p>\n

Extensive outreach<\/h2>\n
\"People
CMS employees joined crews at a special ceremony marking the completion of the decommissioning of H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CMS<\/abbr> received approval for the Conservation District Use Application for the project from the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Board of Land and Natural Resources in 2023.<\/p>\n

A final environmental assessment in June 2022 found that the project would have no significant adverse environmental impacts.<\/p>\n

Preparation of the assessment included consultation and outreach with the Native Hawaiian community through the preparation of a cultural impact assessment; meetings with Kahu K\u016b Mauna (Guardians of the Mountain, a volunteer community-based council); and direct outreach to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs along with other native Hawaiian organizations and stakeholders.<\/p>\n

CSO<\/abbr> decommissioning progress<\/h2>\n

Decommissioning of CSO<\/abbr> is scheduled to be completed by fall 2024<\/a>. The CSO<\/abbr> building and telescope have already been removed, and crews are now working to remove the concrete foundations, pavement, underground utilities and cesspool.<\/p>\n

\"Ti<\/p>\n

H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> history<\/h2>\n

Located on the southeastern slope of the summit, the H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> Observatory served as a cornerstone in training UH<\/abbr> astronomy students for decades. It was built by the U.S. Air Force in 1968 and was one of the first observatories on Maunakea before it was given to UH<\/abbr> in 1970 and transferred to UH<\/abbr> Hilo in 2003.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid css=”” grid_id=”vc_gid:1717229785776-b70855a8-6f4d-6″ include=”175912,198709,198711,198712,198713,198714,198717,198715,198716″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The historic decommissioning of Â鶹´«Ã½Hilo\u2019s H\u014dk\u016b Keʻa<\/span> Observatory was completed in May 2024, and the area will be monitored over the next three years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1193],"tags":[1511,659,1421,1164,14],"class_list":["post-198706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administrative","tag-center-for-maunakea-stewardship","tag-maunakea","tag-maunakea-observatories","tag-telescope","tag-uh-hilo","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198706"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198719,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198706\/revisions\/198719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}