A dark-sky preserve is an area, usually surrounding a park or observatory, that is kept free of artificial light. The purpose of a dark-sky preserve is generally to promote astronomy. Because different national organizations have worked independently to create their programs, different terms have been used to describe the areas. This has led to confusion between the terms reserve, preserve, and park. For example, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada prefers to use the word preserve because reserve is associated with a non-permanent status and could be related to Indian Reserves. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) chooses reserve to avoid confusion with park, when using the acronyms IDSR (International Dark-Sky Reserve) and IDSP (International Dark-Sky Park).
In 1999, the first permanent preserve was established in Torrance Barrens in Ontario, Canada. Nevertheless, protection zones around observatories existed well before the creation of that preserve.
The IDA recognizes protected areas outside the United States. The Mont Mégantic Observatory in Quebec, Canada is the first such site to be recognized. In 2007, the IDA recognized the world's first International Dark-Sky Reserve around Mont Megantic, Quebec.[1] IDA has also recognized Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah as the world's first International Dark-Sky Park.[2]
Canada has established an extensive standard for dark-sky preserves that addresses lighting within the DSP and influences from skyglow from urban areas in the region. This was based on the work of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. There are no other established standards for dark sky preserves. Outside Canada, such designations are generally through self-proclamation. As a result, the validity of such a designation may be dubious. In some cases, dark sky preserves are neither dark nor protected.
It is generally understood that a Dark-Sky Preserve, or Dark-Sky Reserve, should be sufficiently dark to promote astronomy. In the Canadian program, lighting within the area must be strictly controlled to minimize the impact of artificial lighting on wildlife. These guidelines are more stringent than in other countries that lack the extensive wilderness areas that still exist in Canada. The management of a Canadian DSP extends their outreach programs from the public that visit the site to include the promotion of better lighting policies in surrounding urban areas. Currently, Dark-Sky Preserves have more control over internal and external lighting than other Programs.
With the increase in regional light pollution, some observatories have actively worked with cities in their region to establish protection zones where there is controlled light pollution. These areas may not yet have been declared Dark-Sky Preserves.
Although Dark-Sky Preserve designations are generally sought by astronomers, it is clear that preserving natural darkness has positive effects on the health of nocturnal wildlife within the parks. For example, the nocturnal Black-footed ferret was reintroduced to the Grasslands National Park Dark-sky Preserve and the success of the reintroduction is enhanced by the pristine natural darkness maintained within the park by the DSP agreement.[3]
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| Name | Location | Area (in ha) | Bortle Scale | Notes/Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper National Park | Alberta, Canada | 1,122,800 | 1-2 | Designated on Mar. 11, 2011[4] |
| Cypress Hills | Saskatchewan/Alberta, Canada | 39,600 | 2 | Designated on Sep. 28, 2004[5] |
| Beaver Hills | Alberta, Canada | 29,300 | 4.5 | Designated on Sep. 3, 2006 |
| Zselic Landscape Protection Area | Hungary | 9,042 | 3–4 | Designated on Nov. 16, 2009 |
| Mont Mégantic Observatory | Quebec, Canada | 5,845 | 1–2 | Designated Sept. 2005; first IDA International Dark-Sky Reserve[6] |
| McDonald Creek Provincial Park | British Columbia, Canada | 2,225 | 2–3 | Designated in 2003 |
| Gordon's Park | Ontario, Canada | 43.7 | 2–3 | Designated on Aug. 15, 2009; designation is only for the Park though Manitoulin Island (276,611 ha) follows dark-sky practices[7] |
| Bruce Peninsula Fathom Five National Marine Park | Ontario, Canada | 16,700 | 2–3 | Designated on Mar. 29, 2009 |
| Point Pelee National Park | Ontario, Canada | 2,000 | 3–4 | Designated in 2006 |
| Torrance Barrens | Ontario, Canada | 1990 | 3 | Designated in 1999; first Canadian Dark-Sky Preserve |
| Grasslands National Park | Saskatchewan, Canada | 92,100 | 1–2 | Designated on Oct. 2, 2009[8] |
| Kouchibouguac National Park | New Brunswick, Canada | 23,920 | 2 | Designated on Jun. 6, 2009[9] |
| Mount Carleton Provincial Park | New Brunswick, Canada | 17,427 | 2 | Designated on Jul. 18, 2009[10] |
| Kejimkujik National Park | Nova Scotia, Canada | 40,400 | 2 | Designated on Aug. 7, 2010[11] |
| Lake Hudson State Recreation Area | Michigan, USA | 890 | 3 | Designated in 1993[12] |
| Natural Bridges National Monument | Utah, USA | 251 | 2 | Designated in 2007; first International Dark-Sky Park |
| Potawatomi Wildlife Park | Indiana, USA | 116 | 4.5 | Designated in 2003 |
| Cherry Springs State Park | Pennsylvania, USA | 20 | 2[13] | Designated as a State DSP in 2000 by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and as the second International DSP by the IDA on June 11, 2007.[14] |
| Galloway Forest Park | Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland | 75,000 | 3 | Designated on Nov. 16, 2009[15] |
| Izera Dark-Sky Park | Jizera Mountains, Czech Republic and Poland | 7,500 | 3 | Designated on Nov. 4, 2009; first bilateral dark sky park. |
| Poloniny Dark-Sky Park | Poloniny National Park, Slovakia | 48,519 | 2-3 | Designated on Dec. 3, 2010[16] |
| Hortobagy Starry Sky Park | Hungary | 10,000 | ? | Designated on Jan. 31, 2011; IDA's third international dark-sky park (Silver tier)[17] |
| Sark | British Crown Dependency of Guernsey | 545 | 3 | Designated on Jan. 31, 2011; IDA's first international dark-sky island (Silver tier)[18][19] |
| Irving Nature Park Urban Star Park | Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada | 243 | ? | Designated on Jul. 1, 2011; First RASC-designated Urban Star Park |
| Name | Country | Radius (in km) |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald Observatory | USA | 92 |
| Kitt Peak | USA | 56 |
| Mont Mégantic Observatory | Canada | 50 |
| Palomar Observatory | USA | 48 |
| Mount Hopkins | USA | 40 |
| Monte Ekar Observatory | Italy | 30 |
| Asiago Astrophysical Observatory | Italy | 30 |
| Mount Laguna | USA | 24 |
| Observatoire de Haute-Provence | France | 15 |
| Ondřejov Observatory | Czech Republic | 10 |
| Kleť | Czech Republic | 10 |
| Dominion Astrophysical Observatory | Canada | 5 |
Some regions, like the following, are protected without any reference to an observatory or a park.