Join dark skies movement to bring brilliance back to nighttime: Janae’ Reneaud Field

Janae’ Reneaud Field | Special to the El Paso Times

Recently, I read a story by Kirsten Ferguson about dark skies in the Land Trust Alliance’s quarterly magazine. It stated that over 80 percent of the U.S. population lives under skies so polluted by man-made lights that celestial objects like the Milky Way are almost invisible. A growing number of communities — especially in the American West — are determined to preserve pristine views of the stars and dark night skies.

That made me curious: Did El Paso have such an ordinance to encourage or require dark skies? Andrew Polk, with Channel 7-KVIA, reported in 2005 that El Paso passed a "dark skies" ordinance (Chapter 18.18 – Outdoor Lighting Code). The goal was to keep the glow of outdoor lights out of the sky at night. Developers and outdoor advertisers had until May 2015 to come into compliance with the dark skies ordinance, but billboards would be exempt from the ordinance.

Growing up in a farming community in the Midwest, we had very dark nights and saw so many beautiful night stars and even the northern lights! But since I moved away from my childhood home, I have not seen such beautiful night skies. But there are groups and communities working to bring the night skies back.

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Utah, which has more dark-sky places than any other state, is emerging as a global leader in protecting night skies, thanks in part to a former board member of Ogden Valley Land Trust in Utah and a group of academics and others who have helped to found a multi-university dark sky study center called the Consortium for Dark Sky Studies (CDSS).

Based at the University of Utah, CDSS is the first academic center in the world dedicated to discovering and applying knowledge to help protect the quality of night skies. To further dark-sky protections, CDSS is bringing together more than 25 universities, industries, and community and government partners to take part in researching light pollution.

Donna Kay Morgese, in The Wondrous Benefits of Dark Skies, 2017 Basmati, states that many species rely on the night sky to communicate, navigate, and mate while in the dark. A few affected species include bats, fireflies, hatchling sea turtles, migratory birds and tree frogs. Artificial light has impacted many aspects of animals’ habits, including feeding and reproduction. Fireflies are on a decline due to many man-made reasons, including light pollution.

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The Land Trust Alliance says: "One of our priorities in working with the International Dark-Sky Association has been to develop model language for conservation easements, and we have been able to do that with some excellent guidance from the accredited Scenic Hudson in New York. Dark-sky provisions are now a part of the Land Trust Alliance’s learning information and conservation tools.” As Frontera moves forward, where applicable, we will work to add in a dark sky provision to conservation easements.

Do your part to help reduce the light pollution in your neighborhood for your family, the community and for wildlife! It’s easy. Start by pointing the lights in your yard directly down. Then share what you are doing with your neighbors, encourage them to do the same. You may even save a little money in the process by simply turning your outdoor lights off. You will notice a difference immediately, then take a few minutes, lay back and look at the sky. Let your imagination run wild as you look at the vast night sky filled with endless wonders.

Janae’ Reneaud Field is executive director of The Frontera Land Alliance.