Envision Maunakea team releases community report

The report contains comments from a diverse cross section of the Hawai‘i Island community addressing meaning, challenges, and the future of Maunakea.

The EnVision Maunakea team has announced the long-awaited release of the EnVision Maunakea report. The result of two years of effort, and 15 ‘aha kuka listening sessions plus written submissions involving over 100 diverse Hawai’i Island voices, the report delivers insight into the complexities surrounding Maunakea’s past, present, and future.

The EnVision Maunakea report contains ideas from the diverse voices of Hawai’i Island that may inform and support the policy and regulatory decision-makers for the mountain, and also gives readers glimpses into differing opinions and points of view.

“EnVision Maunakea was created so the different voices from our Hawai‘i Island community could be expressed in a safe, constructive, judgment-free space,” says Susan Maddox, executive team leader of Friends of the Future, which served as convener for the process. “Hawai‘i Island is wonderfully diverse, containing countless voices with significant insights, and the opportunity for everyone to gather and share stories of what the mountain means to them and what they see for its future was enlightening and powerful.”

While the voices in the report vary widely in opinion, several key themes emerged including:

• Maunakea is a place of sacredness and spirituality for Native Hawaiians, locals, and visitors alike, including hunters, astronomers, ranchers, spiritual practitioners, and many others.
• Maunakea has the power to teach and be an example for the world.
• Maunakea is a significant place in childhood, family, and traditions.
• All agree the mountain needs to be cared for in a comprehensive, coordinated manner.
• The impact of the astronomy community and ways it can contribute to the island’s future.
• The need for more general education about Maunakea; sharing knowledge gained from the mountain, along with the proper behavior concerning the summit, the lower slopes, and sacred sites.
• The increasing impact of excessive traffic on Maunakea.
• Who is, and who should be, responsible for the management of the mauna.
• Visions for Maunakea’s future.
• Potential solutions that may inspire movement toward a time when nature, culture and science coexist on Maunakea in a thriving, vibrant way for generations to come.

“It’s my hope and vision that we can come together in cooperation and not conflict, that we can envision Maunakea, Hawai‘i nei, our environment and our resources being stewarded in a pono manner, as our ancestors demonstrated they can be,” says a Hawaiian cultural practitioner in an ‘aha kūkā. “Together, we have a sacred kuleana to mālama—to cultivate, sustain and pass on to future generations the vast legacy that we have inherited from our kūpuna.”

Read full media release.

Media release from the Office of Maunakea Management.