Top Line: Fourth-fifths of Americans cannot experience (it’s more than just seeing) the Milky Way without a special trip to find a dark enough sky. Now Oregonians have an International Dark Sky Sanctuary experienceable on our public lands—and it could be expanded.
Figure 1. The Milky Way as seen from Oregon’s Warner Valley, which is part of what is now the largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world. Notice the lights of what I believe to be the unincorporated community of Plush, with a human population of nearly one hundred souls. Source: Joey Hamilton/Travel Oregon.
Dark skies are an increasing rarity as human population and development increase. For too many Americans, a mention of the Milky Way evokes only a distractingly delicious chocolate experience made with creamy caramel and smooth nougat enrobed in rich milk chocolate. Light pollution has rendered the real Milky Way invisible in much of the United States (Figure 2). Just as we humans must leave room for nature, we must also leave room for darkness.
Figure 2. The darkest remaining skyscape in the Lower 48 (outlined in light blue), centered on the Oregon Outback.
Oregon’s Own Dark Sky Sanctuary
A 2.5-million-acre area in Oregon’s Lake County has just been designated the largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world (Figure 3). Certified by DarkSky International, the sanctuary is nine-tenths federal and state public lands. Plans for expansion into Harney and Malheur Counties are under way.
Figure 3. The new Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary (outlined in yellow). It includes much of Lake County (third county from the right along Oregon’s southern border) and should be expanded into Harney (second from the right) and Malheur (first on the right) Counties. Source: DarkSky International.
According to Travel Southern Oregon:
A Dark Sky Sanctuary is a certification given by the DarkSky International to public or private land that has an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is protected for its scientific, natural, or educational value, its cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment. To qualify as a Dark Sky Sanctuary, the area must meet strict criteria for sky quality, commit to protecting the night sky through responsible lighting practices, and provide public outreach. These sanctuaries provide opportunities for stargazing, astrophotography, and other nighttime activities that benefit from minimal light pollution.
Why Bright Skies Suck
Light is a form of pollution as certain as noise and odors. On the whole, electric lighting has enlightened our physical, mental, and emotional worlds. But there can be too much of a good thing. Besides laying waste to the dark above and around us, light pollution adversely affects several values cherished by humans.
Wildlife
Human lighting generally harms native wildlife. Rather than finding safety in the sea, baby loggerhead sea turtles are drawn to their deaths by human lights. Bird migrations are messed with, and insects are fatally attracted by human lights.
According to DarkSky International:
For billions of years, all life has relied on Earth’s predictable rhythm of day and night. It’s encoded in the DNA of all plants and animals. Humans have radically disrupted this cycle by lighting up the night.
Plants and animals depend on Earth’s daily cycle of light and dark to govern life-sustaining behaviors such as reproduction, nourishment, sleep, and protection from predators.
Scientific evidence suggests that artificial light at night has negative and deadly effects on many creatures, including amphibians, birds, mammals, insects, and plants.
Human health
Again according to DarkSky International: “Many studies have shown that exposure to artificial light at night negatively affects human health,” including increased risk for sleep disorders, depression, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Maybe Alzheimer’s as well.
Public safety
Counterintuitively to most, although brightly lit humanscapes might make us feel safer, we are not actually safer. DarkSky International helpfully points to studies that show that streetlights have no effect on traffic accidents and that crime is not prevented with bright lighting but in fact may be increased by it.
Climate stability
Much of the light humans generate is wasted, and when powered by fossil fuel energy, this wasted light contributes to warming our climate. Rooms lit when no one is in them, streetlights lit when no one is on the street, streetlights that cast light toward the heavens rather than where we need it, all exemplify wasted energy. Fortunately, there are things that individuals, industry, and government can do to reduce light pollution.
Safe Lighting Practices
DarkSky International has recommendations for individuals, businesses, and governments to minimize light pollution (Figure 4). The organization has five principles for responsible outdoor lighting:
1. Useful. Use light only if it is needed. All light should have a clear purpose. Consider how the use of light will impact the area, including wildlife and their habitats.
2. Targeted. Direct light so it falls only where it is needed. Use shielding and careful aiming to target the direction of the light beam so that it points downward and does not spill beyond where it is needed.
3. Low Level. Light should be no brighter than necessary. Use the lowest light level required. Be mindful of surface conditions, as some surfaces may reflect more light into the night sky than intended.
4. Controlled. Use light only when it is needed. Use controls such as timers or motion detectors to ensure that light is available when it is needed, dimmed when possible, and turned off when not needed.
5. Warm-colored. Use warmer color lights where possible. Limit the amount of shorter wavelength (blue-violet) light to the least amount needed.
Figure 4. Actually, “BEST” is no lamp at all. Source: DarkSky International.
Why Dark Skies and Dark Landscapes Rock
If you are to see fully the bright heavens above, the landscape around you must be dark. The darker, the better.
Once I was camped on Warner Peak, the highest bump (8,017 feet) atop Hart Mountain in the Northern Basin and Range ecoregion in Oregon’s Sagebrush Sea (aka the Oregon Outback). I had eschewed a campfire as it was summer and relatively warm in the evening, and the little pile of flames can unduly limit one’s view and thoughts. As the sun set behind me in the west and the dark rose before me in the east, I stared into the encroaching darkness waiting for the first stars and eventually the Milky Way to appear.
Then it hit me. From that spot, I could see when the sun was up well over a million acres spread out before me to the north, east, and south and when the sun was down I could not see any lights on the landscape. Alas, when I turned around to the west and noticed the lights of Plush and Adel, my 360-degree circle of darkness was marred—but just by a little.
Figure 5. The Milky Way as seen northeast of Lake Abert and Abert Rim. Unfortunately, the long exposure necessary to capture the stars also emphasizes light pollution from Lakeview. Source: Shannon Theall.
Now I wonder if Oregon’s own dark sky sanctuary couldn’t be expanded not only into Harney and Malheur Counties but also into Grant and Wheeler Counties and the dark parts of Deschutes, Crook, and Baker Counties.
Bottom Line: Another reason to conserve and expand public lands is to conserve and restore the darkness above them.
For More Information
DarkSky International. Homepage.
———. Protect the night: Preserving and restoring the natural nighttime environment is more urgent than ever (brochure pdf).
DarkSky Oregon. Stewardship of Oregon’s Night Skies (web page).
Hale, Jamie. March 11, 2024. “Oregon Outback Is Now the Largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the World.” Oregonian.
Light pollution interactive map (very cool website).
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. June 13, 2016. “One-Third of Humanity Can’t See the Milky Way.” Astronomy.com.
TravelOregon. Oregon Dark Sky Tourism Toolkit (pdf).
Travel Southern Oregon. Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network (web page).