Oregon is now the new home of the world’s 19th dark sky sanctuary, offering pristine views of the night sky across over 3,800 square miles, making it the largest of its kind.
The certification, issued by DarkSky International, involved a years-long effort by federal, state, and local officials, community members, and several legal jurisdictions.
The first zone of the total amount of area submitted for certification comprises 2.5 million acres in Lake County, southeastern Oregon. The certified area is about one-half the size of New Jersey in a region frequently referred to as the “Oregon Outback,” considered a paradise for stargazers.
If completed, the full Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary (OOIDSS) will encompass over 11.4 million acres of voluntarily protected night skies.
“As the population of Oregon and the trend of light pollution continue to rise, the unparalleled scale and quality of the Outback’s dark skies will long serve as a starry refuge for people and wildlife alike,” said DarkSky Delegate Dawn Nilson, who organized Oregon’s application.
Founded in 2001, the International Dark Sky Places Program is a non-regulatory and voluntary program to encourage communities, parks, and protected areas around the world to preserve and protect dark sites through effective lighting policies, environmentally responsible outdoor lighting, and public education. Their work has created a network of Dark Sky places, sanctuaries, and parks encompassing over 160,000 square kilometers in 22 countries worldwide.
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The Oregon Outback is situated in the northern extent of the Basin and Range Province of the Western United States. It’s sparsely populated, very remote, and primarily comprises public lands. It’s a high desert area characterized by sage scrub and abrupt changes in topography that’s home to a variety of iconic American wildlife such as the bighorn sheep and greater sage grouse.
Public officials and a variety of other stakeholders participated in night sky monitoring, lighting inventories, lighting improvements (i.e. decommissioned 14 lights and retrofitted 60 lights on public and private land), and public outreach to bring the nomination together.
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Phase 2 of the OOIDSS application includes portions of Harney and Malheur counties to the east of Lake County. Only a few lighting retrofits, and local approvals are outstanding in the Phase 2 area which would need to be addressed for the full application to go through.
Other famous Dark Sky Parks in the US include all the National Parks in Utah, Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, and Big Bend National Park in Texas.
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