
Idaho Wants to Establish America's First 'Dark Sky Preserve' - mparramon
http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/business/article173461901.html
======
LeifCarrotson
I'm not sure what the difference is between a dark sky park and a dark sky
preserve, but there are plenty of the former. As the article notes, there are
already many International Dark Sky Parks, with nearly 40 in the U.S. Here's a
list: [http://www.darksky.org/idsp/parks/](http://www.darksky.org/idsp/parks/)

I've been to the Headlands park in Michigan; it's a _beautiful_ location on
the north-west corner of the lower peninsula, right on the lakeshore. The
guest house is actually shockingly cheap ($300) for a beach-front rental
space; you'd be hard-pressed to find an AirBNB with similar features for less
- it would make a great company retreat for 10-20 people.

~~~
esMazer
is there a map for all of these?

~~~
monktastic1
[http://www.darksky.org/idsp/finder/](http://www.darksky.org/idsp/finder/)

~~~
lancepioch
In case anybody else is wondering, here's the key for the letters on the map:

C = Communities

P = Parks

R = Reserves

S = Sanctuaries

D = Developments of Distinction

\-----

 __International Dark Sky Communities __Communities are legally organized
cities and towns that adopt quality outdoor lighting ordinances and undertake
efforts to educate residents about the importance of dark skies.

 __International Dark Sky Parks __Parks are publicly- or privately-owned
spaces protected for natural conservation that implement good outdoor lighting
and provide dark sky programs for visitors.

 __International Dark Sky Reserves __Reserves consist of a dark “core” zone
surrounded by a populated periphery where policy controls are enacted to
protect the darkness of the core.

 __International Dark Sky Sanctuaries __Sanctuaries are the most remote (and
often darkest) places in the world whose conservation state is most fragile.

 __Dark Sky Developments of Distinction __Developments of Distinction
recognize subdivisions, master planned communities, and unincorporated
neighborhoods and townships whose planning actively promotes a more natural
night sky but does not qualify them for the International Dark Sky Community
designation.

Source: [http://www.darksky.org/idsp/](http://www.darksky.org/idsp/)

------
grecy
Growing up in rural Australia, I know about this all to well.

We would often host Japanese exchange students and communities elders. I have
the distinct memory of one of the ~60 year old Japanese men spending night
after night outside, staring at the sky.

Later it was explained - he had never seen stars in his life.

------
habosa
Question: I live in San Francisco and I have recently become pretty obsessed
with going to a place like this. I want to go somewhere extremely dark where I
can see the sky in a form that's similar to what someone might have seen
before the invention of electric lights.

Does anyone know a good place in America like that? Ideally it would have
other good natural features to entertain me during the day.

I just can't help but thinking that looking up at the sky a thousand years ago
must have been absolutely awe inspiring. A civilization without artificial
light would look up and see a dazzling display of starlight. it's no wonder
they all believed there was a supreme power above them.

~~~
jhj
This map provides a pretty good guide, and I've found it to be fairly accurate
as to orders of magnitude even if its data is dated:
[http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html](http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html)

To get truly dark skies you'll have to drive 5-6+ hours from SF. Much of the
Sierras don't cut it anymore, and Mendocino NF gets lots of light pollution
from the central valley, or too far north can have too much water vapor in the
air.

Places I've been to within a 7-8 hour drive of SF with super-dark skies:

Central Nevada in the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF units (e.g., North Toiyabe Crest or
Table Mountain), or pretty much any place in central Nevada. Northern parts of
Death Valley. Warner Mountain range in Modoc County, CA.

Further afield:

Great Basin NP in Nevada. Jarbidge Wilderness in Nevada. South-central Utah
(e.g., Capitol Reef NP). Gila NF in SW New Mexico.

~~~
jhj
If you were to pick only one and don't mind a flight and a (super long) drive
from Phoenix, Albuquerque or El Paso, Gila NF in New Mexico is the place to
go. As I recall, driving along the northern fringe on route 59 I experienced
probably the biggest lightless vista view I've seen in the lower 48 states,
even compared to many wilderness areas in, say, Kings Canyon NP or elsewhere.

This is on the other side of Gila as well:

[https://sites.google.com/site/cosmiccampgroundinformation/](https://sites.google.com/site/cosmiccampgroundinformation/)

------
uabstraction
Awesome. It's hard to imagine that only a couple years ago we had dark skies
everywhere. As an off and on hobby astronomer I'm very happy to see this trend
of dark sky consciousness and preservation.

~~~
vvanders
What's crazy to me is how few people have actually seen a proper dark sky.

I tell people about being able to see the milky way streak across the sky in
the summer and they're shocked that I didn't need some sort of long exposure
camera.

~~~
sebasmurphy
I went rock climbing in red river gorge a few years ago and was able to sleep
outside and see the Milky Way. Definitely one of the most memorable
experiences of my adult life. Then you drive back to civilization and realize
how bad the light pollution is.

~~~
vanattab
I want to second the RRG, KY as a great place to go see the stars. I would
recommend you go to the lookout "cloud splitter" great views in all
directions. There is also a back entrance to a "secret cave" you can climb
through and explore. The cave ends at a big opening in the middle of the cliff
and makes for a cool photo (You can see the cave opening at the 1:05 mark in
the video). Only about 1.5-2 miles from trail head. Of yeah, and for the love
of God please don't carve your name in the rocks! Just because countless
assholes have been doing it for years does not make it ok.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqvCvMHpKIg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqvCvMHpKIg)

------
zackmorris
Born and raised in Idaho, and took the Milky Way and constellations for
granted. When I was a kid, my dad and I used to pick out all 7 stars in the
Pleiades (7 sisters).

Then I went to college in Illinois at UIUC from 95-99. On the best nights in
the midwest, I could barely make out Jupiter, due to both smog and light
pollution.

So I just want to throw in my vote that I hope this happens.

Also on a national level, I'd like to see a movement towards shrouded street
lighting, since everything is being retrofitted for high efficiency and
getting brighter. Like maybe we could have a process to report bright street
lamps and prioritize them to get shrouded.

~~~
autokad
i wish cities would also issue black out dates to give residents a day of the
year to see the sky. I live in south philadelphia, and the light pollution is
so bad I can walk out unto my deck at midnight and read a book.

------
igrekel
If you don't restrict "America" to the USA, this would probably count as an
earlier initiative for creating a true reserve.
[http://ricemm.org/en/](http://ricemm.org/en/)

~~~
rad_gruchalski
I was about to say exactly the same. America (North and South) is a continent.
USA is the country. There are preserves like these in America, for example,
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasslands_National_Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasslands_National_Park).
Not that far from the US border.

------
lgats
This already exists in Michigan:
[http://www.midarkskypark.org/](http://www.midarkskypark.org/)

~~~
Splendor
I think there's a distinction between a park and a preserve.

------
dogruck
Flagstaff and Sedona are both dark sky communities, in AZ. Lowell built his
telescope in Flagstaff because of the visibility.

~~~
matheweis
There are numerous telescopes and observatories in the general area for this
reason; besides the more publicly known Clark Telescope as the main Lowell
tourist site, there is an active research Lowell further out of town, as well
as a major US Naval Observatory and the Discovery Channel Telescope. The local
University there has one as well.

~~~
dogruck
Ah, thanks for adding these details. I learned something.

