West Marin seeks to become Dark Sky Community

In West Marin, a group of environmental activists is determined to protect the region’s view of the night sky. 

The group, DarkSky West Marin, has applied for certification with DarkSky International, a nonprofit based in Tucson, Arizona, that aims to “restore the nighttime environment,” according to a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

If successful, West Marin would join Borrego Springs and Julian, two remote Southern California towns — along with several of the state’s parks — in becoming a Dark Sky Community. A Dark Sky Community is essentially a place that shows serious commitment to curbing light pollution, meeting numerous criteria supporting a dark night sky over a period of years. And according to a follow-up story in the New York Times, Point Reyes National Seashore is also seeking dark sky classification. 

“Their motivation is both aesthetic and practical,” Whiting writes. “If West Marin becomes a certified Dark Sky Community, which will require action by the county Board of Supervisors to limit the brightness of exterior lighting, the effort might add a layer of protection against creeping light pollution — and the residential and commercial development that causes it.”

The dark sky application is no small thing. In addition to a $250 fee, it’ll cost $25,000 and require five years of website maintenance, educational presentations, printing costs and office supplies. Necessary modifications to LED streetlights could cost more than $35,000, the Chronicle reported. 

“This is not just about us,” Laura Arndt, one of DarkSky West Marin’s leaders, told the Chronicle. “Every single living creature needs the dark, even moths that spend their nights flying around a lightbulb that could be turned off.”