UH Hilo Center for Maunakea Stewardship - Research Library

Mauna Kea – Above it all, game preserve, forest reserve or window on the stars

Author:
Bowman, Jesse
Title:
Mauna Kea – Above it all, game preserve, forest reserve or window on the stars
Periodical:
Honolulu
Year:
1976
Volume:
11
Pages:
48-50, 56-58
Subject:
Mull, Mae E. Land use Mauna Kea Astronomical observatories Mauna Kea Recreation areas Mauna Kea
Summary:
This document describes astronomical development on Mauna Kea that started with the construction of three telescopes that were built in the mid-1970s and the part that feral horses, goats, cattle, and sheep played in the destruction of the mamane forest that led to the eventual endangerment of the Palila bird (the honeycreeper, Psittirostra bailleui). Since the Palila bird depends on the mamane tree for both food and home, the author describes how a former Hawaii Audubon Society president, Mae E. Mull, took on the Division of Fish and Game, the hunters, and the astronomers in an effort to protect the summit of Mauna Kea from becoming a "playground for astronomers". She did this as a way in which to protect/restore the mamane forest and to save the Palila bird population. She also urged the State and County leaders to establish a master plan that would control the development and use of Mauna Kea not only by astronomers but also by hunters, skiers, biologists, and the military.
Label:
Ecology
Date:
1976
Collection:
Periodicals