HONOLULU – Hawaii officials voted to impose an emergency rule to restrict access to Mauna Kea after protesters blocked construction of a giant telescope on the mountain.
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The Board of Land and Natural Resources voted 5-2 Friday night on the 120-day rule, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The rule restricts being within a mile (1.6 kilometres) of the mountain’s access road during certain nighttime hours, unless in a moving vehicle, and prohibits camping gear.
It would allow construction to resume on the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, the subject of months of protests. Many native Hawaiians consider the mountain sacred.
Camping was already prohibited on the mountain.
“We need the tools to keep order on the mountain,” said board member Chris Yuen. “It’s sad that it has come to this point.”
Construction had stalled as protesters maintained an around-the-clock presence on the mountain.
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