The dark sky over Browns Canyon National Monument in Southern Colorado makes for exceptional stargazing. Now the area is designated as an International Dark Sky Park.
DarkSky International is an organization that works to restore and protect the nighttime environment and wildlife from light pollution. In doing so, it creates better conditions for seeing the stars and other celestial sights like the Milky Way.
The Arkansas River flows through the 22,000-acre national monument in Chaffee County. It's now among a growing number of sites in Colorado with official International Dark Sky designations.
Friends of Browns Canyon, a local advocacy group, spearheaded the effort to get the certification according to a recent joint announcement from the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. The group took light meter readings required to get certification and organized various night sky events.
The group was “instrumental in getting the International Dark Sky Park certification and recognition, and should really be applauded for their tireless efforts,” said Bureau of Land Management National Monument Manager for Browns Canyon Kalem Lenard, calling Browns Canyon “a special place in the heart of Colorado."
Some lighting fixtures near the monument needed to be retrofitted, but the work required to meet the standards for the certification was minimal according to Tom Waters, Park Manager for the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area. In a statement, Waters cited the staff’s ingenuity and the collaboration between local and federal agencies in making it happen.
The federal and state agencies that manage the recreation there are training staff to deliver night sky programming and educate visitors, which is part of the requirements for the designation.
