On Friday, June 26, a group of Native Hawaiian leaders, kupuna and supporters brought their Maunakea fight straight into Silicon Valley, walking into Palo Alto with a petition they say carries more than 500,000 signatures against the Thirty Meter Telescope. Along with the petition, they delivered a cease-and-desist notice aimed at the project's managers. The action zeroed in on the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, described by organizers as the telescope's biggest philanthropic backer, and was designed to pressure funders to cut off future payments. Supporters say the delivery signals a new round in a long-stalled battle over construction on the summit.
Petition delivered to a major funder
Organizers said the stack of signatures and the legal notice were handed directly to staff at the Moore Foundation's Palo Alto headquarters. Pua Case of Mauna Kea Education and Awareness told Hawaii News Now that "Over 500,000 people are here with us today in the spirit of saying no TMT on Maunakea." Protesters framed the request plainly: they want the foundation to stop any additional funding, pointing to what they see as its role as the project's single largest donor.
Project eyes decommissioned CSO site
Project staff have said they are now taking an early look at the former footprint of the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, which was removed in 2024, as a possible alternate spot on Maunakea. Maui Now reported that TMT project manager Fengchuan Liu told the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents the team believes, at a preliminary level, that the decommissioned CSO site could be scientifically and technically feasible. Opponents counter that shifting to a different footprint on the same mountain does not resolve the deeper cultural concerns and consultation issues that have fueled protests for more than a decade.
Funders and TIO respond
According to Hawaii News Now, TMT International Observatory executive director Robert Kirshner said in a statement that the project "has received the petition and is reviewing it" and that TIO "has taken no action to change from the approved TMT site on Maunakea." In the same report, Holly Potter, chief communications officer for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, said the foundation "appreciate[d] the deeply held views on this issue" and welcomed the chance to listen. Neither response pointed to any immediate shift in funding or project plans.
Why opponents say it matters
Opposition to continued telescope construction on Maunakea has simmered for decades and exploded into massive demonstrations in 2019, when construction was halted and many of those arrested were kupuna. Organizers say that chapter still drives their work today. Maui Now has documented the 2019 encampments and the legal and political fallout that followed. Activists say the new petition delivery is one more way to keep pressure on funders while state processes and institutional reviews continue to sort out the telescope's future.
What happens next
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation's program page lists roughly $250,000,000 in grants so far for the Thirty Meter Telescope, which it describes as the project's single largest philanthropic contribution, according to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The TMT partnership, led by Caltech and the University of California with international partners, says it is weighing alternatives while continuing technical work, according to TMT International Observatory. Any official pause or change in how money flows would have to come from the project's board and participating institutions, and organizers note that funders can influence the schedule if they decide to hold back future payments.
Legal notice and next steps
The activists' delivery also included a written cease-and-desist demand to TIO, which organizers said lays out their continued opposition and urges funders to stop supporting work on the mountain. For now, there is no public court filing tied directly to the move, but both activists and funding institutions suggest the back-and-forth is likely to continue through a mix of public pressure and formal reviews. TMT officials and the Moore Foundation say they will keep reviewing the submitted materials and engaging with stakeholders in the weeks ahead.
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