A larger hall might be needed if all the people who want to join the Thirty Meter Telescope contested case hearing are allowed in.

At least 17 people and two organizations have formally asked to be named a party to the hearing, including a new nonprofit comprising Native Hawaiians who support the educational goals of the TMT, as well as one of the leaders of the Mauna Kea protest, who was twice arrested on the mountain trying to stop construction crews.

Retired Circuit Judge Riki May Amano, the contested case hearings officer, set a May 31 deadline for those who are interested in becoming a party to the case and a June 17 hearing in Hilo to determine the actual parties.

A majority of those who have asked for a seat at the table are individuals opposed to the $1.4 billion project and who consider themselves Mauna Kea cultural practitioners.

By contrast, one of the groups asking to join is Perpetuating Unique Educational Opportunities Inc., or PUEO, a nonprofit corporation formed by Native Hawaiians last month to support the pursuit of educational opportunities for children, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

In a motion to intervene, the group makes the case that the TMT “will greatly enhance the educational opportunities for our children” and will “inspire exploration.”

PUEO board members live in Hilo’s Keaukaha- Panaewa Hawaiian Homesteads and say they exercise customary and traditional Native Hawaiian rights on Mauna Kea.

In a statement, PUEO board President Keahi War­field said his family maintains a long genealogical connection to chiefs and commoners alike who held stewardship over the land.

The construction of telescopes on Mauna Kea “has never diminished my ability to be a Native Hawaiian,” he wrote. “It has not made any of our family cultural practices difficult.”

On the contrary, the roads, restrooms and snow clearing have increased opportunities to learn about and engage in cultural practices, he said.

“Before the construction of the summit road, our grandparents and their grandparents had to walk or ride horses to get to the summit,” said William H. Brown, another PUEO officer. “But now, because of the telescopes, they maintain the road so that we can drive to the top. They even keep it open in the winter after their snowplows clear the roadway.”

Farmer Richard Ha Jr., another group member, said TMT is important to Hawaii island for jobs so young people don’t have to leave Hawaii to raise their families.

Ha noted that Hawaii County has the lowest median family income, the highest rate of homelessness and highest suicide rate of all the counties. Education, he said, translates into higher family income and a better life.

TMT has agreed to give $2 million annually for education and high-tech workforce development.

“As a Hawaiian, I believe that we should share this blessing,” Ha said.

Warfield said one reason for asking to join the contested case is to dispel the myth that all Native Hawaiians are opposed to the project.

On the other side is Kaho­‘okahi Kanuha, who helped lead the Mauna Kea “protectors” on the mountain last year. He said he was urged to get involved in the contested case hearing in hopes of assisting the case against TMT in any way he can.

Kanuha, a teacher at Punano Leo o Kona, a private nonprofit preschool in Kona, said he lived on Mauna Kea for four months in 2015 just as his ancestor ‘Umialiloa did more than 400 years ago.

“I have been given the sacred responsibility to protect the sacred lands of my ancestors. … I conduct traditional and customary practices on Mauna a Wakea, specifically, in the exact area that TMT wishes to build its telescope,” Kanuha wrote in his request to join the hearing.

Kanuha was twice arrested on Mauna Kea in 2015. His first arrest was dismissed, but his second arrest went to trial. In January he was found not guilty of obstructing the construction efforts of TMT.

Also asking to become a party to the hearing is the TMT International Observatory Board, which wants to build and operate the cutting-edge telescope near the mountain’s 13,796-foot summit.

The TMT nonprofit board, with members representing countries around the world, previously said it has the most to lose and should be allowed to offer its input during the hearing.

According to state regulations, contested case hearing parties can include anyone who has a property interest in the land in question, including those living on or near the property, or those who can demonstrate they will be especially affected by the proposed action.

Any request can be approved if it is believed it will help the board make its decision.

A party can be denied, the regulations say, if its point of view is substantially the same as a party already admitted to the proceeding or if it will make the hearing “inefficient and unmanageable.”

Each party, according to the law, is given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses during the hearing.