Column: New Maunakea governance right move

My path as an astronomer began with a telescope on Maunakea, and for the last quarter century, I have had the immense privilege to practice astronomy from telescopes there as my career as an astronomer unfolded. I wear hats as a researcher, an educator, a participant in the development of future space telescope missions such as LUVOIR, and as chief scientist at the W. M. Keck Observatory. I work with an amazing team at this premier observatory right here in Waimea, enabling astronomers around the world to push the boundaries of our knowledge.

For decades, telescopes on Maunakea have led the world in enabling astronomical research, and have the promise to do so for decades more, in concert with other facilities on the ground and in space: a powerful ecosystem of discovery. I believe deeply that astronomy in Hawaii should continue to thrive as a global leader.

I also believe, equally deeply, that it is time to undertake a new approach to the management of Maunakea: an approach of mutual stewardship. This approach, with Maunakea as the central focus, was set forth in House Bill 2024 and will soon become law. The legislation, which establishes a new management authority for Maunakea, codifies the importance of astronomy to the state of Hawaii while ensuring direct agency for Native Hawaiians in the governance of Maunakea. It recognizes the need for multiple voices — cultural, economic, environmental, educational, scientific — to jointly manage and steward this place of immense importance.

I am not alone in my acknowledgement of the need for a new approach. Each decade, the astronomical community, facilitated by the National Academy of Sciences, comes together to produce the Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. This influential document has historically been read by astronomers for its guidance on research endeavors and funding resources.

But this Decadal Survey not only endorsed powerful facilities, but also charged the astronomical community to “build partnerships with Indigenous and local communities that are more functional and sustained through a Community Astronomy approach … .” The principle of mutual stewardship that grounds the legislation and the authority’s mandate is in synergy with Decadal Survey’s vision of community astronomy globally.

Few things unite people better than our shared awe and curiosity as we look up past our horizons and onto the cosmos far beyond. Humanity’s study of the sky predates today’s telescopes by hundreds of generations, inspiring us to ask the most fundamental questions of where our place is in the universe, and if we are alone in it.

While we strive toward advances in scientific inquiry, we acknowledge that telescopes cannot — and should not — supersede any of the other essential perspectives on Maunakea’s governance and stewardship. I believe that the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority is the right path forward.

Significant, complicated work remains to be done to ensure the authority can be successful; lessons from the past must be incorporated into the establishment of the new authority if it is to succeed — including the hard lessons and dramatic improvements undertaken by the University of Hawaii over the past several decades. I am grateful for the university’s efforts and hope that they will provide an important foundation for the future evolution of the governance of Maunakea.

As an astronomer, as a resident of Waimea in Hawaii, and as a believer in the opportunity for a new future that mutual stewardship will enable, I look forward to seeing that work begin, supporting it in any way I am able, and for these opportunities to be realized.

John O’Meara is chief scientist at the W. M. Keck Observatory and former chairman of the National Science Foundation’s Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee.