"The real purpose of it is to protect that half of the world above us, so that when people go to that dark sky park they are guaranteed a dark sky experience."
—Dr. Stephen Pauley, Dark sky advocate
He took on Ketchum. He took on Hailey and Sun Valley. He's still working on Bellevue and Blaine County, but the Wood River Valley's Dr. Dark has his sights set even higher still.
If Blaine County ever comes around to adopting regulations to reduce light pollution, Dr. Stephen Pauley, also known by his aforementioned moniker, said he would ask the nearby Sawtooth National Recreation Area to consider becoming the first federal dark sky park in the United States.
"It may be ambitious, but I think there's value in it for future generations," the retired Sun Valley physician said.
As an amateur astronomer, Pauley has become Central Idaho's leading dark sky advocate. The journey started in 1996, when he was invited by Ketchum City Councilwoman Chris Potters to give a presentation about reducing light pollution.
Three years later, Ketchum adopted an ordinance requiring all outdoor lighting to be shielded and imposing maximum light bulb brightness. It was the first ordinance of its kind in Idaho.
The difference in light pollution, he said, has been striking. The thin-air mountain stars were uncloaked above the small resort town. Obnoxious floodlights, which blinded passersby, were eliminated.
"The real purpose of it is to protect that half of the world above us, so that when people go to that dark sky park they are guaranteed a dark sky experience," Pauley said.
Hailey followed suit in 2002. Sun Valley adopted regulations this year.
"Every ordinance is a little different," he said. "They tweak it in one way or another."
During campaign season, Blaine County Commissioner-elect Tom Bowman told Pauley at a public candidate's debate that a night sky ordinance would be one of his top priorities.
"Get me elected. It will be done in four months," Bowman said.
If that is the case, the SNRA could be next on the list. When Pauley first contacted rangers on the 756,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service managed land, he said he was told to ask again if Blaine County adopted an ordinance.
"The lights that are up there are generally just bad, bad lights, especially by Smiley Creek," he said. "And they're easily corrected with shielding."
There are relatively few outdoor lights in the SNRA, but research has shown that sideways and upward cast lighting can be seen from long distances.
Chadwick Moore is a ranger at the Pinnacles National Monument in California. In 2001, he wrote a paper on his dark sky research.
"The effect of urban lighting, also known as light pollution, can reach surprisingly far," he wrote. "For example, from Death Valley National Park, the lights of Las Vegas produce an obvious and obtrusive glow even through the city is 100 miles to the southeast. Los Angeles, 160 miles to the southwest, produces a dim but broad glow across the southern horizon."
Moore and some of his colleagues recently worked on studies at Craters of the Moon National Monument south and east of the Wood River Valley.
"Numerous small light domes are seen in the direction of Idaho falls and to the southwest toward Twin Falls, but none was observed to extend more than 10 degrees above the horizon," Moore wrote about his research.
In public hearings on the potential for night sky regulations, Pauley has stressed that requiring sensitive lighting does not have to compromise safety or any other practical impetus for home, business or street lighting.
For example, in place of a single, bright, sideways cast floodlight, several downcast lamps could accomplish the same task. For streetlights, a flat lens in place of their common convex counterparts will help cast light only in a downward direction.
"I'm not asking people to remove lights and make everything dark, just to shield lights so they don't shine sideways or upwards," he said.
Pauley said there are three state dark sky parks in the U.S., one each in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Michigan. He said communities near Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania have reported increases in business as a result of flocking stargazers.
"The absence of light pollution and the extreme darkness of the night sky have astronomers proclaiming Cherry Springs to be the best choice in the northeastern United States for amateur stargazing," according to the park's website. "Cherry Springs State Park offers a large observation field set atop a mountain with a 360-degree view of the sky."
Pauley said parks designated for dark sky protection draw visitors eager to experience the wonders of the universe.
"Federal dark sky parks have the potential to boost revenues from dark sky eco-tourism when nearby towns become destination areas for star gazers who would combine daytime recreation with nighttime amateur astronomy," he said.
What's more, there is an increasing body of research that indicates light pollution has a detrimental effect on wildlife species including insects, sea turtles, nocturnal frogs, salamanders and salmon, as well as on the human circadian clock.
But for now, the focus in Central Idaho is on the night skies, and Pauley continues to credit Councilwoman Potters for opening the door to the ongoing effort.
"She was really the one to start the whole thing," he said. "Once I was able to get in via Chris to do my presentation, everyone thought it was a good idea."
