Astronomy

Revelers watch the Sun set during the annular eclipse at Grand Canyon National Park in 2012. ERIC BETZ
As the National Park
Service celebrates its
centennial, Grand Canyon
officials hope to preserve
the natural lightscape for
centuries to come. HARUN
MEHMEDINOVIC/SKYGLOWPROJECT.COM
Light pollution from Phoenix and Las Vegas spreads hundreds of miles to Grand Canyon National Park. NPS
To protect the last of these sites, the
National Park Service has established its
Colorado Plateau Dark Sky Cooperative. It’s
an attempt to rally state and federal agencies,
along with local tribes, communities,
businesses, and citizens, to the dark-sky
cause. This community support network
recognizes the popularity of Southwest skies
“A TYPICAL NIGHT AT GRAND
CANYON, IF THE MOON IS DOWN,
IF YOU’RE THERE LATE INTO THE
NIGHT, WILL BE FILLED WITH
THOUSANDS OF STARS.”
and their importance as a tourism draw, as
well as an environmental necessity. And
already their movement has helped forward
discussions on what to do about errant visitors
center lights and streetlights, as well as
encroaching oil and gas development.
Over the past decade, sites like Chaco
Culture National Historical Park, Rainbow
Bridge National Monument, Grand
Canyon-Parashant National Monument,
and, most recently, Canyonlands National
Park, have been named Dark-Sky Parks,
which increases their profile as stargazing
destinations. The attention helps protect the
natural lightscape, too.
A somber centennial
But light pollution is creeping into even
these places. At the Grand Canyon, skyglow
washes in from Las Vegas and Phoenix —
hundreds of miles away. The enemies of the
night are also now approaching the gates.
Every visitor to the Grand Canyon South
Rim’s main entrance must pass through the
tiny town of Tusayan. And an Italian developer,
the Stilo Development Group, hopes to
seize on this and build shopping malls,
track homes, high-end boutiques, and even
a dude ranch just off Highway 64.
To the east, another developer is pushing
a controversial plan to build a gondola to
the bottom of the Grand Canyon near the
confluence of the Colorado and Little
Eric Betz is an associate editor of Astronomy.
He formerly covered Grand Canyon issues as a
reporter in Flagstaff, Arizona, the world’s first
International Dark-Sky City. Follow him on
Twitter: @ericbetz.
Colorado rivers — a site where the Hopi
tribe believes their ancestors originated.
Both complexes would capitalize on
the nearly 5 million visitors who travel to
the Grand Canyon each year. But they
would also strain the already scarce
water supplies and wash out some of
the faintest stars cherished by those
who travel to the parks to reconnect
to the natural world.
The Park Service opposes
these developments at its
door. And it’s now tackling
the developments within
its borders as well.
“We’re trying to
improve the dark skies
here in Grand Canyon
National Park,” says
park ranger Marker
Marshall. “We’ve
got a lot of light
fixtures that are
very old and are
not as dark-sky
friendly as they
could be.”