IN 1999, the University of Virginia began negotiations with the Research Corporation and the University of Arizona to give U.Va. guaranteed access to the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and other Steward facilities. The LBT is one of the three telescopes making up the Mt. Graham International Observatory (MGIO). The other two telescopes have been operational for more than five years. The LBT building is complete and the telescope itself should be installed and operational in 2003. The LBT will be one of the largest optical telescopes in the world (http://medusa.as.arizona.edu/lbtwww). Recently, Mr. Michael Nixon, representing the Apache Survival Coalition, addressed the Student Council and asked that U.Va. remove its support for this project. The student community has been asked to take a stand on this issue. I feel that it is imperative that we stay involved with the MGIO. However, I only can touch on some of the pertinent issues and I encourage all students to independently research this matter.
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The MGIO is built on federal land on top of Emerald Peak, the third tallest peak of Mt. Graham. Mt. Graham, a large mountain in Arizona, and part of the Coronado National Forest, covers about 200,000 acres, with about 3,000 acres higher than 9,600 feet. The LBT will occupy 1.2 acres, about the size of a football field, and the total area for the MGIO is 8.6 acres, including the access road (http://www.astro.virginia.edu/LBT/).
Concern about the telescope revolves around three issues: its scientific impact, cultural impact and environmental impact.
The LBT will be one of the premier telescopes in the world due to its large collecting area and ability to record detail. The LBT will be able to deliver images of objects more than ten times as faint as the Hubble Space Telescope. The LBT will produce high quality science, and it is in U.Va.'s best interest to be involved with this project. In addition, U.Va. will gain guaranteed access to other University of Arizona telescopes. Some have claimed that there are 36 better sites for the LBT (http://www.mountgraham.org). But these claims are based only on the study of topographic maps and do not include other important factors such as light pollution, access, etc. The Mt. Graham site was chosen because of its "exceptionally dry air and clear skies." Multiple extensive studies have shown that Emerald Peak on Mt. Graham is an excellent site. It is probably the best remaining site in the continental United States ( http://www-astronomy.mps.ohio-state.edu/LBT/).
Assessing the cultural impact is a complex issue. There are some Apache members who claim that Mt. Graham is Dzil Nchaa Si' An, a sacred mountain, while others disagree completely ( Bordewich, Fergus M., "Killing the White Man's Indian: Reinventing Native Americans at the End of the Twentieth Century." NewYork: Doubleday, 1996). With such conflicting views among the Apaches, it is difficult for an outsider to determine what is correct. In 1985, all Arizona tribes were contacted about the proposed observatory; the San Carlos Apache tribe did not raise any cultural objections during the three year study period (Cusanovich, Michael A., Dzil Nchaa Si An, Mt. Graham Fact and Fiction. Cultural Survival Quarterly, Fall 1996). I have not found any evidence that the White Mountain Apaches raised any objections during this period either. In my opinion, chapter six of "Killing the White Man's Indian" provides a balanced starting point to explore this complex issue.
Much of the environmental issue centers on the Mt. Graham subspecies of the red squirrel. The Mt. Graham red squirrel is an endangered and federally protected subspecies. During the 1990s, when most of the construction occurred, the red squirrel population actually increased by over 50 percent (http://medusa.as.arizona.edu/graham/envir.html). A requirement for the construction of the observatory was the creation of a 1750-acre Refugium around the telescope site to protect the squirrels. The Observatory will reforest 60 acres, about 7 times its own size, of pre-existing roads and firebreaks.
For those who favor breaking off from this agreement, I ask you to consider additional issues. U.Va.'s faculty and the research they carry out are among U.Va.'s chief strengths. If U.Va. abandons this agreement, it will have a negative impact on the university-wide research atmosphere. Without U.Va.'s support for the initiation of new research, both the attraction and retention of gifted faculty will be hurt. When these cornerstones weaken, U.Va. will suffer. Our joining the MGIO project was made possible by a $10 million gift from the Peninsula Community Foundation to join a large telescope project. How can we encourage donations for the research that keeps this University strong if we cannot guarantee that academic departments can carry out that research?
I believe that this column and your own investigations will convince you that the development of the LBT and MGIO has been and will continue to be carried out with sensitivity to the issues outlined above.
(Gregory Savikoff is a graduate student in the department of astronomy.)
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