Natural Lightscape Management
The night sky can be one of the most awe inspiring views we will ever experience. But the night sky and natural darkness are fragile and in many places are becoming lost in the glow of artificial lights. Night skies have only recently been recognized as an important cultural and natural resource to the National Park Service and the nation. It is currently estimated that two-thirds of this country's population live where they cannot see the Milky Way. Many people seek protected lands, such as National Parks and wilderness areas, to experience this vanishing resource. Maintaining the dark night sky above many National Park units is a high priority for the National Park Service.
A critical first step in management of this resource is to measure and inventory the night sky condition. To address the measurement of this resource, the NPS Night Sky Team was formed to develop a system to measure and ultimately monitor changes to night sky brightness. The data now show that almost every park measured exhibits some degree of light pollution.
A growing pool of knowledge regarding ecological relationships with light, and the understanding of the impact light pollution has on human perception and experiences, combined with mounting night sky data, will help to manage this resource for the benefit of parks and the people who visit them.
The National Park Service recognizes the importance of natural lightscapes and supports research and monitoring to protect this vanishing resource. The National Park Service will preserve, to the greatest extent possible, the natural lightscapes of parks, which are natural resources and values that exist in the absence of human-caused light.
To prevent the loss of dark conditions and of natural night skies, the National Park Service will seek the cooperation of park visitors, neighbors, and local government agencies to prevent or minimize the intrusion of artificial light into the night scene of the ecosystems of park units. The National Park Service will not use artificial lighting in areas where the presence of the artificial lighting will disrupt dark-dependent natural biological resource components of a park, such as sea turtle nesting locations.
Light pollution is a relatively easy environmental problem to resolve. Protecting night skies through the use of night sky friendly lighting can reduce costs through energy savings.