HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island residents urged planners to find ways to teach visitors to Mauna Kea about the deep religious meaning and environmental importance of the mountain before they allow people into the area.

Others at a meeting on plans for a comprehensive management plan for Mauna Kea urged an end to new astronomy development on the mountain.

"When is enough enough?" asked former Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustee Moanikeala Akaka. She and others pointed out the new plan is being prepared while other planners and scientists lay the groundwork for two major new astronomy projects proposed for the mountain.

"We're supposed to close our eyes and allow this process to continue while they're talking about bigger and bigger up there?" Akaka said.

Pablo McLoud, who worked as a ranger on the mountain for more than five years, said public education is the most urgently needed fix.

"I saw a lot of behavior on the mountain that was inappropriate and offensive, and most of that behavior was based on ignorance where people were not aware of the sacredness of the mountain, the beauty of the mountain and the precious resources that it holds," he said.

McLoud, who now works for Subaru Telescope, said the problem for the rangers was "we can only catch one family, one person, one group at a time." He said a more systematic and organized educational effort is needed.

The move to draft the comprehensive management plan was prompted by Hilo Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara, who in January 2007 ruled the state could not allow any additional development on Mauna Kea until a comprehensive plan is drafted and approved by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

SUMMIT SEEN AS SACRED

In the same court decision, Hara overturned a conservation district use permit issued by the land board to allow construction of the so-called "Outriggers" telescopes in an array around the existing W.M. Keck Observatory.

NASA later canceled funding for the $50 million Outrigger project, and it was never built.

The 13,796-foot summit of Mauna Kea is considered sacred to Hawaiians, and is home to rare plant and insect species. But it is also widely regarded as the best location for astronomy in the world.

There is considerable pressure for continued development of astronomy facilities on the summit.

The University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy wants to remove an existing 88-inch UH telescope and replace it with Pan-STARRS, which would be a robotically operated telescope designed to rapidly scan and photograph the night sky to detect asteroids or comets that could threaten Earth.

Planners are working on a federal environmental impact statement for the $100 million project, which is being funded by the Air Force. Pan-STARRS stands for Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System.

Mauna Kea is also being considered as a possible site for the Thirty Meter Telescope, a much larger instrument that would be the latest-generation telescope.

Dawn Chang, principal of Ku'iwalu, the consultant working on the project, said a review of public testimony shows there is concern about degradation of the summit area because of the volume of traffic and visitors.

She raised the possibility that access to the mountain should be somehow limited, possibly by establishing a shuttle service to limit the number of rental cars.

Arthur Hoke, a former member of the Mauna Kea Management Board, agreed. "I'm not saying that we stop anybody, but we only allow them to access the mountain under our control," Hoke said.

COMMUNITY REVIEW

A second round of meetings is planned for this fall to present a draft of the plan for community review and comment. The plan will then be submitted to the Mauna Kea Management Board for its review before advancing to the Board of Land and Natural Resources for final approval.

Ku'iwalu is also gathering input through a series of small "talk-story sessions," group meetings with community organizations, and though online comments submitted to www.Mauna KeaCMP.com. To arrange a presentation, organizations can call 808-539-3580.