Governor reappoints 4 individuals to Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority

Gov. Josh Green named several community and business leaders to several important state boards and commissions including the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority, which will assume governance and management responsibility over the mauna after a five-year transition period.

Established in 2022, Green appointed or reappointed the following individuals:

• Reappointment of Joshua Lanakilaoka‘aina Mangauil, as a recognized practitioner of native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices associated with Mauna Kea.

• Reappointment of Gary Kalehua Sherwood Krug Jr., as an individual who is recognized as possessing expertise in the fields of P-12 education public education or post-secondary education.

• Reappointment of Pomaikalani Bertelmann, as an individual who is a lineal descendent of a practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices associated with Mauna Kea.

• Appointment of Neil Jacob Kahoʻokele Hannahs, as an individual with ʻāina resource management expertise and specific experience with Hawaiʻi island-based management to succeed Kamanamaikalani Beamer, who has decided to step down from the Authority at the end of his term on June 30, 2024.

If confirmed, these members will all have terms that expire on June 30, 2028.

Comprised of 11 members, the authority began meeting in June 2023 in anticipation of taking over management of these lands from the University of Hawai‘i and the Department of Land and Natural Resources in four years.

The authority has been scrutinized since its creation. Office of Hawaiian Affairs recently filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court challenging the constitutionality of Act 255, which designates seats on the group from a variety of agencies, including a representative of the telescopes on Mauna Kea. OHA isn’t one of them.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs argues this creates a conflict of interest where that representative can vote on actions that can benefit them, creating a breach of contract and fiduciary duties.

Act 255 was passed by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and signed into law by then-Governor David Ige in 2022.

Act 255 charged the Authority with being the principal State agency with responsibility for managing the Mauna Kea lands, which are part of the ceded lands trust. By establishing the Authority, Act 255 created a new trustee entity, releasing the State from all obligations regarding management of Mauna Kea as required by the State’s lease between the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the University of Hawaiʻi entered in 1968.