Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative
Non-federal partner: The University of Utah
Federal partner: National Park Service
Location of project: The Colorado Plateau: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
Principal investigator: Stephen Goldsmith
Top middle: Dark sky viewing with telescope at Cedar Breaks National Monument in Cedar City, UT
Top right: “Star Party” at Dead Horse State Park in Cottonwood, AZ
Bottom left: Dark skies at Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico
Bottom right: The Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative Logo
Description of project: The Colorado Dark Sky Cooperative began in 2013 and is still in progress today. The main goal of this project was to preserve the few sights in America where there is unpolluted darkness. They are hoping to limit the amount of light that shines over the Colorado Plateau’s National Parks, monuments, and surrounding communities. The night skies over the Colorado Plateau are among the clearest and most visible in the country and this project is working to keep it that way. The formal mission statement is: “The Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative aims to voluntarily link communities, tribes, businesses, state agencies, federal agencies, and citizens in a collaborative effort to celebrate the view of the cosmos, minimize the impact of outdoor lighting, and ultimately restore natural darkness to the area.” The project is leading the way in protecting natural darkness as a precious resource.
This award recognizes “an exemplary partnership for its stunning achievements to protect and preserve public lands and enhance the experience of visitors.”
Project start/end dates: December 30, 2016–present
Project cost: $91,199 to date
Project successes: The Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative project hosted a number of events to gain awareness for the fight against polluted skies. Some of these events included community lighting walks, informative dark sky workshops, and community “star parties.” Some of these parties were hosted in conjunction with a series of outdoor concerts by the Utah Symphony for their Great American Road Trip tour in a number of parks around the Colorado Plateau, all of which were either certified by the International Dark Sky Association, or on their way. The Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative also trained two graduate students in city and metropolitan planning at the University of Utah to complete an exterior lighting inventory for Moab City and Grand County. The Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative project was also awarded the 2018 Public Lands Partner Award through the Public Lands Alliance. This award recognizes “an exemplary partnership for its stunning achievements to protect and preserve public lands and enhance the experience of visitors.”
How project met the needs of the federal partner: This project has helped to increase awareness of the value of dark skies and associated threats in and surrounding units of the National Park System on the Colorado Plateau and has fostered a community-based approach for the preservation and enhancement of dark skies amongst a broad range of stakeholders.
Student support: This project trained 2 graduate students to work in Moab on the Lighting Inventory project. The students also completed exterior lighting inventories for the communities of Helper, Bluff, and Torrey, Utah. Helper was the first community in the world to have a detailed lighting inventory using the ArcGIS method. The Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative serves as an advisor to an undergraduate student participating in the Helper Revitalization Committee working to enact a dark sky friendly lighting ordinance for Helper and integrate dark sky friendly design into their community master plan.