{"id":62118,"date":"2017-07-03T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T18:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=62118"},"modified":"2019-03-07T15:42:16","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T01:42:16","slug":"omkm-culture-and-heritage-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/07\/03\/omkm-culture-and-heritage-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Office of Maunakea Management honored with culture and heritage award for preservation initiatives"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Gov. David Ige congratulated the Office of Maunakea Management (OMKM) on the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce 2017 P\u016balu Award for Culture and Heritage. From left, Stephanie Nagata, OMKM<\/abbr> director; Wallace Ishibashi, OMKM<\/abbr> senior advisor, cultural officer; Governor David Ige, Lukela Ruddle, OMKM<\/abbr> cultural resource program manager<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce<\/a> honored the Office of Maunakea Management<\/a> (OMKM) with its 2017 P\u016balu Award for Culture and Heritage. This award recognizes organizations that exhibit through their actions, practices that promote island traditions and preserve our multi-cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

“The Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce bestowed our Culture and Heritage Award to the Office of Maunakea Management for its implementation of a Long-Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan for the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Management Areas on Maunakea. The plan specifically enhances cultural stewardship on Maunakea and preserves our island\u2019s cultural heritage. We were not only impressed with OMKM<\/abbr>\u2019s preservation initiatives and actions, but also with its collaboration with the community,” said Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Wendy Laros.<\/p>\n

Striving for sustainable management and stewardship<\/h2>\n

The Office of Maunakea Management was established in 2000 to provide dedicated Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Island community-based management of the natural, cultural and scientific resources on nearly 12,000 acres of UH<\/abbr> managed lands on Maunakea. OMKM<\/abbr>\u2019s mission is to “achieve harmony, balance and trust in the sustainable management and stewardship of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve through community involvement and programs that protect, preserve and enhance the natural, cultural and recreational resources of Maunakea while providing a world-class center dedicated to education, research and astronomy.”<\/p>\n

Achieving balanced stewardship is especially challenging given the wide-ranging environmental, cultural, research and community interests. Over the years OMKM<\/abbr> initiated and continues to execute management programs to protect and preserve the unique cultural resources under UH<\/abbr>\u2019s care.<\/p>\n

The Long Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan was prepared and approved by the State Historic Preservation Division<\/a>. This plan is in fulfillment of the Cultural Resources Management Plan\u2019s action step to systematically monitor the condition of over 260 historic properties containing about 1,000 archaeological features located in the Mauna Kea Science Reserve, Maunakea Access Road Corridor and the Mid-Level Facilities at Halep\u014dhaku. Significant historic properties are vulnerable to intentional and unintentional human impact as well as damage from natural erosion, biological invasions, weather and geological events including earthquakes. The plan assists OMKM<\/abbr> with monitoring and documenting historic properties in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Division, and the development of measures to mitigate possible adverse impacts to preserve and protect historic properties for future generations.<\/p>\n

The preparation of the Long Term Historic Property Monitoring Plan and implementation of regular annual monitoring without a statutory requirement, demonstrates the Office of Maunakea Management\u2019s commitment to stewardship and best practices in cultural resource understanding, protection and preservation.<\/p>\n

OMKM<\/abbr> was also recognized last year by the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce for its environmental stewardship programs with a P\u016balu Award for Environmental Awareness. The Historic Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Foundation\u2019s 2017 Preservation Commendation Award, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s highest recognition of preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and interpretation of the state\u2019s architectural, archaeological and cultural heritage, was presented to the Office of Maunakea Management last month.<\/p>\n