UH Confirms TMT Project Is Last of its Telescope Sites On Mauna Kea

Photo credit: Darde Gamayo.

A letter from University of Hawaiʻi President David Lassner to Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair Suzanne Case reportedly confirms that the Thirty Meter Telescope or TMT project site is the last new area on the mountain where a telescope project will be contemplated or sought by the University.

President Lassner’s letter to the chair states that it, “shall constitute a legally binding commitment and may be regarded as a condition of the University of Hawaiʻi’s current lease and of any lease renewal or extension proposed by the University.”

University officials say the commitment fulfills the second point of Governor David Ige’s 10-point “Way Forward” plan that addresses future management and stewardship of Mauna Kea.

According to University officials, UH has also fulfilled the third point of the plan, officially identifying three telescopes that will be decommissioned and permanently removed before the TMT begins operations.