Dark Sky International is a U.S.-based nonprofit that advocates for preserving dark skies by limiting light pollution at night.
Research has shown that light pollution can harm wildlife, disrupt pollinators, and impact human health and safety.
“So the benefit of having a dark sky is not necessarily just for being able to see the stars," said Michael Rymer, Dark Sky’s communities program manager. He said in the last 10 years, there has been an explosion of interest in Dark Sky certification around the globe. Achieving it is no easy feat, however.
“It's not just, 'Hey, you're dark. Here's your reward.’ They have to show that they are doing these things: making changes to lights, implementing, adopting a policy that dictates how future lights will behave, showing proof that they are communicating with the general public about what they're doing,” Rymer said.
The western U.S. is heavily represented.
“Utah is very much a leader in the program, having the most Certified International Dark Sky places in any kind of province or state,” Rymer said.
Utah is home to over two dozen Dark Sky communities and places. The most recently certified was Bluff, in June.
The small town in San Juan County borders the Navajo Nation to the south and is surrounded by state parks and national recreation areas.
“We're in the far southeast corner. If you're coming from Moab and headed to Monument Valley, you go straight through us,” said Anne Leppanen, Bluff’s mayor.
“I think this Dark Sky designation for us is a big potential boost if we utilize it correctly,” Leppanen said.
Jennifer Davila, a town council member and business owner, is excited about the certification and its implications for astrotourism, or recreation focused around stargazing.
“We are very tourism-based. During our season, which typically runs from March until the end of October, we'll see an influx of five to eight hundred people every day come through town,” Davila said.
As part of their certification agreement, Bluff is collaborating with the Bears Ears Partnership on dark sky outreach and events. The initiative's education director Sarah Burak, said so far, these events have been successful.
“We've done a star party, which is constellation tours and telescope viewing, each month. In November, we'll have a star festival. We'll bring in astronomers and telescopes and basically open it to, hopefully, additional tourism," Burak said.
The community is proud to recognize its dark skies as a natural asset.
“Even in the center of Bluff, where we are our brightest it is still very, very dark. You still see the Milky Way from the brightest spot in Bluff. … That's not true of other places throughout the country or throughout the world,” Burak said.
