The state has told Native Hawaiians protesting the building of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea to remove its campsite by Thursday evening.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources said the tent at the campsite near the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station will be considered abandoned at 6 p.m. Structures and material will be removed at the owner’s expense.

The department said the structures are in violation of state laws prohibiting any construction or improvement in the Mauna Kea Forest Reserve and prohibit camping activity that involves the possession of a tent, tarpaulin, or other obvious camping paraphernalia in the Mauna Kea Game Management Area.

The camp has been in place for 176 days and is used by TMT protesters to practice cultural traditions and keep a 24-hour watch on the mountain.

Seven women and a man were arrested Sept. 9 at the protest camp across the road from the Mauna Kea Visitors Center for being in the restricted area on the mountain.

On July 31, state and county law enforcement officers arrested seven people and cited six others at the protest site on Mauna Kea.

On June 24, officers arrested 11 protesters who refused to leave the road leading to Mauna Kea’s summit. The protesters blocked the road as construction workers in Goodfellow Brothers vehicles drove up.

In April, authorities arrested 31 people when protesters previously blocked workers from reaching the construction site near the summit of Mauna Kea for the planned Thirty Meter Telescope. The charges of trespassing were later dismissed for 10 defendants.

However, DLNR conservation officers have left the camp itself in place.

The DLNR enacted emergency rules specifically prohibiting people from being in the area from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.