After more than a week of demonstrations and more than a dozen arrests, Hawaii Governor David Ige says that the company building one of the world's largest telescopes atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea has agreed to his request to halt construction for a week.
Thirty Meter Telescope is constructing the telescope on land that is held sacred to some Native Hawaiians.
Scientists say the location is ideal for the telescope, which could allow them to see into the earliest years of the universe.
Ige said he hopes the temporary pause in construction will allow the interested parties to have more discussions about the project.
Native Hawaiian groups have been protesting the construction of the telescope since its inception last year.
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Kealoha Pisciotta, a critic of the telescope project and protest organiser, said the governor's announcement is a positive development but opponents will continue to advocate against the project.
"I think that's a good sign, but he needs to understand however that we can't just stand down," said Pisciotta, president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou.
Ige "inherited these problems from the previous administration that had not done well by the people of Hawaii or the mountain".
Hundreds have recently protested the construction on the mountain, and more than a dozen people were arrested last week for blocking the road that leads to the top of the mountain.
The university subleases the land on Mauna Kea to Thirty Meter Telescope for the project.
