TMT protesters’ tent removed from Mauna Kea

State Department of Land and Natural Resources officers have removed a large tent used by Thirty Meter Telescope opponents to camp on Mauna Kea.

DLNR announced early Monday morning that 19 officers with the department’s Conservation and Resources Enforcement division removed the unpermitted structure.

The press release didn’t say exactly when the nighttime enforcement action took place, though the timing of the announcement suggests it happened either early Monday or late Sunday. Phone calls to DLNR media contacts weren’t immediately returned.

TMT protesters agreed to vacate the tent last week after receiving a notice and being assured that they would be notified if construction of the telescope was going to resume.

Officers did not spot anyone camping in the area and no arrests were made.

A hale built by the protesters at the site, near the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at about the 9,000-foot elevation, was not removed.

The tent belongs to a group calling itself the “Lawful Hawaiian Government.” The construction of both structures was illegal, according to DLNR.

The department said officers removed the tent after its “rightful owner failed to claim it and take it down.”

The DLNR officers were supported by four Hawaii County police officers and a Mauna Kea ranger.

The structures were built as part of an encampment the protesters started about 180 days ago.

Emergency rules enacted last July specifically ban camping in the area. The state Land Board adopted the rules in response to the 24-hour presence of TMT opponents who say they were holding vigil for a mountain they consider sacred.