Texas Parks, Towns Embrace Dark Sky Movement
In recent years, Texas’ state parks have struggled with falling visitor numbers and budget cuts. These days, in their quest to lure people back, the parks are promoting opportunities for night-sky viewing, away from city lights.
“As Texas becomes more and more urbanized, people — literally — they can’t see the stars,” said Chris Holmes, the director of interpretive services for state parks at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Next summer, he said, the department will launch a program aimed at encouraging star-gazing in more parks across the state.
Star-gazing in Texas presents both opportunities and challenges, dark-skies advocates say ...
Comments (3)
Audrey Fischer
Thanks for this story! Visiting Texas is on my to-do list... specifically to visit a truly starry night sky. cheers+stars from Chicago-- measurably the most light-polluted city on the planet.
Jim Vance
Two rather simple things would go a very long way toward improving the night sky visibility for Texas (and perhaps many other areas): 1) a change in the Southern Building Code regarding the placement of outdoor light fixtures and the distribution of emitted light through directional setting and incorporation of shrouds or shades around the light source -- so that light shines downward onto the ground where it's needed and desired, not sideways or upward into the sky, and 2) a change in State Law extending to ALL counties throughout Texas the limited ordinance-making authority granted to Jeff Davis County that ensures protection of the McDonald Observatory's dark skies through allowing the adoption of specific building code requirements that govern exterior lighting adherence to design principles and standards supporting that objective.
Audrey Fischer
Jim Vance's solution sounds good to me for Texas, and the nation as well!