State Seeks Applicants For Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority

The state is looking for people to serve on the new board tasked with managing lands on Maunakea.

Applicants are now being sought to serve on the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority. The authority was established via Act 255, which was established after Gov. David Ige signed into law House Bill 2024 following the 2022 legislative session.

Applicants are asked to apply by July 28.

“This new authority has the enormous task of laying the groundwork for a new management structure atop Maunakea, and we need dedicated, passionate individuals applying to sit in these critical positions,” state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education, said in a press release.

The authority will have 11 voting members, each of whom will be appointed to three-year terms. Membership will consist of:

• Chairperson of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources or the chairperson’s designee.
• Hawaiʻi County mayor or the mayor’s designee.
• Chairperson of the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents, provided that the chairperson can designate a member of the board of regents or past member of the board with experience with Maunakea to serve as the chairperson’s designee. If a past regent is appointed to fill this seat, the appointee shall be subject to confirmation by the state Senate.
• An individual with ʻāina resource management expertise and specific experience with Hawaiʻi Island‑based management (must be confirmed by the Senate).
• An individual with expertise in public education or post-secondary education (must be confirmed by the Senate).
• A representative appointed by the governor from a list of three names submitted by Maunakea Observatories (must be confirmed by the Senate).
• An individual with business and finance experience with previous administrative experience in managing a large private-sector business (must be confirmed by the Senate).
• An individual who is a lineal descendent of a practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices associated with Maunakea (must be confirmed by the Senate).
• An individual who is a recognized practitioner of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices (must be confirmed by the Senate).
• The governor shall appoint two members from a list of three names submitted for each appointment by the Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives (must be confirmed by the Senate).

“The authority will play a historic role and I hope that those who apply will support and advance the mutual stewardship of Maunakea,” Speaker of the House Scott Saiki said in the press release.

To apply click on the “Department of Land and Natural Resources” tab on the state’s board and commissions website. A drop-down menu will appear; select the appropriate box next to the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority and click “Submit” at the bottom of the page. An application form will appear. Fill it out in its entirety and submit.

“I encourage people who have the expertise and commitment needed to shift to a community-based governance model for one of the state’s great natural resources to apply as quickly as possible,” Ige said in the press release. “Together, we can continue Hawai‘i’s momentum toward a strong and sustainable future.”