Reason to look up: Buffalo National River seeks Dark Sky Park designation

There are the massive bluffs, forested hiking trails and, of course, the beautiful river winding through it all.

But when night falls, there's still more to see at the Buffalo National River park in Arkansas, if folks take the time to look up.

Park officials hope to make stargazing and planet viewing even more memorable for visitors by changing many of the park's outdoor lights to reduce light pollution that can create a luminous glow.

Their efforts might earn the Buffalo National River an International Dark Sky Park designation — the first in the Natural State.

"We just submitted our application last week, and it's been an ongoing project for two years," said park ranger Cassandra Johannsen. "We've spent two years trying to reduce our light footprint."

About 20 Western national parks already have earned dark sky designations from the International Dark Sky Association, but it's more difficult to achieve farther east because of light pollution from cities located closer together.

Johannsen said Buffalo National River was approached by astronomer Bruce McMath, chairman of the Arkansas Natural Sky Association, to see if the park would be interested in lowering its light footprint and seeking a Dark Sky Park designation.

Johannsen said the idea fit perfectly with the park's goals of expanding awareness of the natural world among more of the 1.5 million people who visit the park each year.

The park embraced the idea of reducing the amount of light it casts into the sky — small to begin with but still enough to affect night viewing and possibly alter wildlife patterns in the park.

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It removed some street light fixtures, replaced some with lights that throw their light downward instead of up into the sky. The park put in motion-sensor lights at restrooms and replaced many white-light bulbs with amber-colored ones that don't impact people's night vision as much.

"We got rid of the intense blue lighting that can distract birds that are navigating at night," Johannsen said. "We also know that the mating process of fireflies is altered by bright artificial lighting."

A year ago, the park also expanded its nighttime outdoor education programs, adding stargazing events with local astronomers and half-mile star hikes at Buffalo Point. More night-sky programs are in the works.

"We want families to get their kiddos outside and look up at the sky and wonder," Johannsen said. "We also need to preserve these dark places so you can see the stars and planets. Unlike solving air pollution or water pollution, light pollution is easily fixable."

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The Dark Sky Park designation will help expose many people who live in light-filled cities to a view they rarely get to see, McMath said. He hopes the park will continue to be an island of darkness.

"The value is that this designation sets an anchor down to expose people to what very few people see at night — a truly dark sky," McMath said.

Arkansas isn't alone in seeking to reduce light pollution and open the skies to better astronomical viewing. A Missouri chapter of International Dark Sky Association just formed in October.

"After the solar eclipse, there's a big passion for people to connect back to nature and the stars," said chapter president Don Ficken. "When you're able to look up and see the stars and planets, that's really humbling."

The group is still in its formative stages, but Ficken said he hopes some places in Missouri, like Ozark National Scenic Riverways on the Current and Jacks Fork rivers, might want to follow the Buffalo National River's lead.

"Once we get our foundation set up, we'll do some outreach," he said.  "We'd love to figure out what the opportunities are."

ONSR spokeswoman Dena Matteson said the national park would be interested.

"ONSR isn't seeking that designation at this time, but it is definitely something we may consider in the future," she said. "We are blessed with 'dark skies' around ONSR for the most part anyway, due to the park's location away from large urban areas.  

"We'll have to look into the requirements that are associated with this designation to see if it's a possibility in the future."

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