Glacier looks to set up dark sky preserve

On a clear winter night in Glacier National Park, even when the moon is new, there's enough starlight to see by.

Sure, it isn't the blaring light of a city street. It's a subtle white glow that takes some getting used to, but it's true light, heavenly in natural charm.

A group of volunteers who are looking to keep it that way are working with Park officials both here and in Canada to make Waterton-Glacier the first certified "international" International Dark Sky Association Preserve.

Last week, astronomerDave Ingram, the Northwest rep of the International Dark Skies Association, along with other interested volunteers, toured Glacier Park's west side looking for sources of light pollution.

While Glacier Park is primarily a dark national park already, there are some lights that interfere with night sky viewing, Ingram said.

In order to become a preserve, the National Park Service over time may have to modify or replace existing lights with dark-sky friendly models.

"The purpose of (artificial) lighting is way finding and pedestrian safety," Ingram said. "Going up into the sky is totally wasted energy."

In a process that can take several years, the Park can change its lighting schemes and add adaptive lighting and optics, Ingram explained. Adaptive lights can turn on and off by a motion sensor or other device. Other fixtures can be shielded so the light goes toward the ground and not up in the air.

As part of the process of becoming a dark sky preserve, changes don't need to be made overnight - the park just needs to come up with a plan.

Ingram said it's more than just about star-gazing in Glacier Park. It's about habitat - a host of creatures rely on dark skies to properly live in the park. Dark skies are an integral part of the natural world. Light pollution has proven harmful to migrating birds and bats, which have evolved over eons utilizing the natural night skies

The project is also about educating visitors. Last summer, Ingram and other local astronomers volunteered their time teaching visitors about the park's heavenly vistas.

"If they leave the park understanding and loving the night sky, they'll learn to protect it," he said.

There could be problems outside the park, however. With continued energy development on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, light pollution could become an issue. Western North Dakota, which was once dark prairie, now looks like a city when viewed from above, as oil well rigs are lit up like Christmas trees.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will consider proposed changes to seasons on deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, lion and gray wolf during a meeting Monday and Tuesday, March 18 and 19 in Boise.

A public comment period begins at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18. Members of the public who want to address the commission on any topic having to do with Fish and Game business may do so at the public hearing. All testimony will be taken into consideration when the commission makes decisions on agenda items at the meetings.

Routine agenda items include a legislative update and a presentation on bighorn sheep translocation. Commissioners will consider proposed rules for capturing wild peregrine falcons for falconry.

In the afternoon, commissioners will meet with the House Resources and Conservation Committee at the Statehouse.

Later in the day, fisheries managers will provide an update on the forecast for spring and summer Chinook salmon to Idaho. They expect to return to the commission in April with recommendations for 2013 Chinook fisheries in the Clearwater, Salmon and Snake river drainages.

Other agenda items include a briefing on rules for game animals and an update on the elk management plan revision. Commissioners also will hear a presentation on how the agency monitors and determines whether predation is a limiting factor on sage-grouse and what procedures are used to direct control efforts.

For a complete agenda, go to the Fish and Game website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/about/commission/?getPage=184.

Individuals with disabilities may request meeting accommodations by contacting the Idaho Department of Fish and Game director's office at 208-334-5159 or through the Idaho Relay Service at 1-800-377-2529 (TDD).