STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK
PHOTOS BY TRAVIS AMICK PHOTOGRAPHY AND KAREN BOSSICK
Just call Sun Valley “Star Valley.”
A 1,400-square mile area encompassing Sun Valley, Ketchum, Stanley and the forests in between is now a sanctuary for stargazers.
The Tucson-Ariz.-based International Dark-Sky Association announced Monday evening that a portion of central Idaho, which also includes parts of Blaine, Boise, Custer and Elmore counties, will be the United States’ first Dark Sky Reserve.
What’s more it granted the Reserve “Gold Tier” status, the highest level of a system used by the IDA to rank the quality of the night sky. Under IDA guidelines Gold Tier status is reserved for the darkest skies with only a small amount of light pollution tolerated.
“The importance of today’s achievement to the dark-skies movement in the United States cannot be understated,” said IDA Executive Director J. Scott Feierabend. “Given the complexity of International Dark sky Reserve nominations and the rigor of the protections that IDA requires for this honor, this is certainly a watershed moment in the history of American conservation.”
“I’m really excited,” said the Idaho Conservation League’s Betsy Mizell, who had been sitting on the edge of her seat all day long until the decision was announced at 5 p.m. “This has been a long time in the making. People began working nearly 20 years ago to put ordinances in place. If we didn’t have that, we wouldn’t be celebrating this today.”
The Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve is now the third largest of 12 Dark Sky Reserves around the world, with others in England, Wales, France, Germany, Africa, Canada and New Zealand. To get certification, it had to possess an exceptional quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment.
“The Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve was created not just for locals but for all Idahoans and visitors from across the world who can come here and experience the primeval wonder of the starry night sky,” said Steve Botti, the mayor of Stanley.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of work, important policy decisions and commitment by so many to manage our light pollution,” added Nina Jonas, mayor of Ketchum.
Now, central Idaho residents will be tasked with helping to preserve the skies above for future generations to enjoy.
“Every year we’ll have to look at the local lights to see if they’re in compliance. Every year we’ll have to keep on improving so this is not a one-and-done deal,” said Mizell, community engagement associate for the ICL’s Ketchum office.
The drive to preserve the dark night skies around Sun Valley started 18 years ago with Dr. Stephen Pauley, a retired ear, nose and throat surgeon who became enchanted with the celestial sphere during a sailing voyage in 1977 that took him from California to Hawaii. He navigated by the night sky, taking measurements with a sexton while his 10-year-old son Clarke kept time.
After moving to Sun Valley’s Elkhorn neighborhood, he began training his Meade R8 reflector telescope on the stars-capes he saw splashed across Sun Valley. He says he can see things as a clear as a bell from his backyard.
“We wouldn’t have a dark sky today if we had allowed light to creep up one light at a time,” he said. “The night sky is definitely a quality of life issue. And, while it was a long process to get to where we are now, it was the right thing to do given the spectacular star-scapes that residents of Sun Valley are exposed to almost nightly.”
It wasn’t easy, however. Early city council members pushed back until the City of Ketchum finally passed an ordinances regulating exterior lights to cut down on light pollution in 1999. The City of Hailey followed in 2001, then Bellevue and, finally, Sun Valley in 2002. Blaine County followed suit a few years later.
The City of Ketchum was designated an International Dark Sky Community in late October, becoming just the 16th city in the world to receive that designation. Nearby Craters of the Moon National Monument became one of nearly 40 International Dark Sky Parks earlier this year.
“In some ways it came 18 years too late,” said Pauley. “I think we could have been among the top five if we had gotten on it right away. But we had to wait until things changed in City Hall to get it done. Mayor Nina Jonas has been a real advocate for it.”
The establishment of the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve could have implications of celestial proportions in paving the way for astro-tourism in the Sun Valley and Stanley areas.
Mizell noted, for instance, that the designation might spur a dark sky festival, such as the Jasper Dark Sky Festival. That festival, held in mid-October, includes a Symphony under the Stars, space talks, an art exhibition featuring photographs of the northern lights and other dark sky phenomenon, dark sky photo tours, a sky trams star session, full moon hikes, planetarium dome experiences, daytime solar/lunar astronomy tours, a dark sky and dark red wine tasting , dark sky yoga and science expos.
It also has implications for wildlife and humans, both of whom have been adversely affected by artificial light disrupting nighttime patterns.
ICL volunteers fanned out over the 1,400-square mile area, taking light meter readings at various locations to convince the International Dark-Sky Association that Central Idaho had what it took to be a Dark Sky Reserve. Now, volunteers will fan out to see if lights are in compliance throughout the region.
Those measures include using shields to direct exterior light downward, rather than allow it to escape upwards. Wood River Valley residents now can only display Christmas lights from Nov. 20 through March 20, rather than year round as some used to.
Some people have questioned whether reducing urban light encourages crime. In fact, a 2015 study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found streetlights don’t prevent accidents or crime but do cost a lot of money.
A Chicago Alley Light Project showed by bad outdoor lighting can decrease safety by making victim and property easier to see. Most crimes occur in the light of day and some crimes like vandalism and graffiti thrive on night lighting.
Pauley, who says he can see said the latest designation is a tribute to all the people in the Wood River Valley and Stanley who wanted to watch the stars and have been careful about their outdoor lights,”
“When we can’t see the stars, we’re missing a big part of who we are and where we came from,” he said. “Our own sun is 5 billion years old but the Milky Way was here long before the sun. And we are newcomers on the block—only 300,000 years old. Seeing star puts things into perspective, it really does.”