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Dan Duriscoe
Forest Ecologist, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California
Chad Moore
Physical Scientist, Pinnacles National Monument, California
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| “We stand on the verge of losing our view of the universe from our national parks.” |
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Back to Chapter 5: Managing Risks
Articles
Protecting American ginseng
By Janet Rock
Incident management team develops foot-and-mouth disease plans
By Peter Dratch and Kris Fister
An overview of invasive exotic plant management strategies in the Northeast
By Kathleen Kodish Reeder
Eradicating rats from Anacapa Island
By Kate Faulkner, Gregg Howald, and Steve Ortega
Other Developments
Focus on toxic airborne pollutants
Mosquito surveillance in the National Capital Region
Battling alien fish in Yellowstone Lake
Award-winner Profile - Hawaii Volcanoes resource manager honored
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By Dan Duriscoe and Chadwick A. Moore
 This panoramic view of Mojave National Preserve clearly shows light pollution from Las Vegas in contrast with the darker, “natural” night sky. The river of light on the left is the Milky Way. Altitude and azimuth in degrees are indicated along the margin. Although somewhat degraded, the night sky above the southwestern desert national parks still harbors a valuable resource.
The national parks, especially the wilderness parks of the West, have traditionally been thought of as places where pristine views of the night sky abound. Yet, over the last three or four decades, this resource has been rapidly degraded in many parks by the widespread growth of light pollution—an unintended by-product of human population and land development. As light scatters in the atmosphere, it diminishes the view of the night sky, including the stars and planets, an important and inspirational part of the national park experience for many.
The progression of increased night lighting in the United States has been tracked by military satellite images that have been used to model the effects of wasted light reflecting off the atmosphere. One of these models, developed by a group of Italian scientists, demonstrates the potential for the growing loss of night sky views in the future. This model projects that in 2025, precious few places will be left in the lower 48 states where people can experience dark night skies. Although models are valuable in assessing threats, they still require real-world observations to verify predictions.
A central problem in protecting night skies is the widespread lack of data about impacts on this resource. Although hundreds of national park areas suffer from the effects of light pollution, only a handful have any data whatsoever to assess their situation. Moreover, not all park managers are aware of the significance and necessity of a dark night sky and the rapidity at which it is being lost. Although other park managers are genuinely concerned about the problem, they lack the tools to inventory, monitor, and protect this resource.
To address these issues, a small group of resource managers working in two parks formed the Night Sky Team in January 2000. Assisted by the Air Resources Division, the team’s task was to implement a multifaceted night sky protection plan, beginning with increasing awareness of the problem through the development of educational materials and outlining methods for monitoring and protecting night skies. The plan also directed them to research, develop, and test various methods for measuring night sky quality. Finally, the team would assist the parks in reducing wasted light inside and outside park boundaries.
By the end of 2001 the Night Sky Team had accomplished many tasks that move a dozen parks in the Pacific West and Intermountain Regions closer to achieving their objectives. For example, the team assisted the National Parks and Conservation Association in publishing a Handbook for Protecting Night Skies, and reviewed facility lighting in numerous national parks in the West. A meeting with astronomers and engineers of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff and the nonprofit International Dark Sky Association led to the development of protocols for employing techniques in national parks to measure night sky brightness and estimate visual degradation. The team tested and refined the use of a research-grade CCD (digital) camera, a photoelectric photometer, and visual estimation methods for making sky brightness measurements, and analyzed the results. Foremost in these methods, All-Sky CCD Photometry provides the most complete information and produces a graphic depiction of sky quality that can easily be interpreted.
Site visits to 12 parks directly address the need for data by capturing night sky images that can be analyzed for brightness, identifying sources of light pollution, and establishing scientific monitoring strategies. Sky brightness measurements establish a baseline from which future resource degradation or improvement can be accurately determined. Not only do the data stand as a benchmark, but the photographs and visual estimation methods are also powerful tools for interpreting and communicating the issue. Another valuable aspect of the team’s work has been to incorporate reviews of facility lighting and consultation with park staff into site visits.
We stand on the verge of losing our view of the universe from our national parks. Yet, unlike losing a species to extinction, topsoil to erosion, or virgin lands to development, the night sky is 100% recoverable. Perhaps the momentum of the Night Sky Team and many individual parks can lead to a broader based national effort to protect this fleeting resource.
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