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Starry Skies Over Sedona

Sedona AZ (August 4, 2014) – The City of Sedona and the environmental organization Keep Sedona Beautiful (KSB) are proud to announce that the City of Sedona has been named the world’s eighth International Dark Sky Community by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

The Dark Skies movement started with professional and amateur astronomers alarmed that nocturnal skyglow from urban areas was blotting out the sight of stars. The world famous Palomar Observatory in California is threatened by skyglow from Escondido and local businesses. For similar reasons, astronomers in the state of Arizona helped push its governor to veto a bill in 2012 which would have lifted a ban on illuminated billboards.

The Dark Skies movement started with professional and amateur astronomers alarmed that nocturnal skyglow from urban areas was blotting out the sight of stars. The world famous Palomar Observatory in California is threatened by skyglow from Escondido and local businesses. For similar reasons, astronomers in the state of Arizona helped push its governor to veto a bill in 2012 which would have lifted a ban on illuminated billboards.

In December 2012, the Sedona City Council established as one of its priorities the designation of Sedona as an International Dark-Sky Community by the IDA. In April 2013, through the efforts of Mayor Rob Adams and the KSB Dark-Sky Committee, it was decided to pursue the designation. The KSB Dark-Sky Committee garnered wide community support from local governmental entities, including the City Council, Yavapai County and Coconino County Board of Supervisors, local organizations such as the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, Sedona Lodging Council, Big Park Regional Coordinating Council, environmental groups, numerous businesses and hundreds of individual area residents. After extensive documentation by city staff of the City’s efforts to control light pollution, the comprehensive application to IDA was submitted by KSB in mid-November 2013.

Mayor Adams states, “I am delighted that Sedona has been approved for an official Dark-Sky Community designation. I believe that this designation, along with the Bicycle Friendly Community designation, makes a statement about our values and priorities as a community. These designations also require that we maintain guidelines and standards that assure our dark skies and bicycle paths will be an ongoing priority for our City.”

Tom O’Halleran, past-president of KSB, adds, “For years a major goal for the citizens of Sedona and the City has been to preserve our majestic dark sky. This designation will be a reminder that we all live in a special place and send a message to future generations that maintaining our Dark-Sky Community designation will require constant vigilance.”

On June 24, 2014, City Council approved the City of Sedona International Dark Sky Community Policy and Lightscape Management Plan for maintaining Dark Sky designation by the IDA.

Achieving Dark Sky designation entitles Sedona to display the IDA Dark-Sky Community logo in official publications, promotions, website, and signs at the entrances to the city and throughout the community. It also allows other groups within the community, such as KSB or the Chamber of Commerce, to use the logo when identifying the Sedona area in its publications, promotions, brochures, and website.

The International Dark-Sky Association, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization based in Tucson, Arizona, advocates worldwide for the protection of the nighttime environment and dark night skies by educating policymakers and the public about night sky conservation and promoting environmentally responsible outdoor lighting.

IDA established the International Dark Sky Places conservation program in 2001 to recognize excellent stewardship of the night sky. Designations are based on stringent outdoor lighting standards and innovative community outreach. Since the program began, eight communities including Sedona, sixteen parks, and eight reserves have received IDA designations.

More information about the IDA can be found at www.darksky.org.

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11 Comments

  1. For Barbara and the gang to bring out their Bumble Bee Tee’s and start another march about Sedona taking ownership of W89A. Maybe even a new slogan – “Mayor and Keep Sedona Beautiful, tear down those lights!”

  2. Knock off the sarcasm & appreciate it. Congrats Council & Mayor & KSB. Nice team work.

  3. Just Sayin' says:

    Let’s not forget one thing….

    The IDA’s board had to change and reduced their standards for this to happen so let me ask; did we really earn this distinction?

    BTW, I was on the side of having the lights and not owning the road.

  4. Lisa, VOC says:

    What do you mean changed the requirements?

  5. Nobody in any right mind would think lighting the rocks makes sense. The beauty is in the red daytime color (we advertise red rocks!), in their shadows and sunlight of day, not the black of night except to provide a foundation for the starry and moonlit night sky. Sedona isn’t Disneyland with neon laser lights of Santa and Micky cavorting across the sky! People come here for the serenity of Sedona and its rocks – the natural beauty of the rocks not some neon strip mall sideshow.

    Don’t you people go to the seashore? The mountains in Colorado or Utah or other places in Arizona? The rolling plains of the midwest? See neon lights there for evening attractions?

    What is wrong with these people in that city, in that chamber?

  6. Just Sayin' says:

    @Lisa

    Yes, I heard that when a new group of people were voted onto the IDA recently, they lowered the standards needed to qualify.

  7. until the city of Sedona and the Chamber of Commerce use photographs of Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte to advertise their dark skies all of which lie in Big Park.
    Consider it a perk for supporting businesses outside of your city limits.

    Your sister community, Big Park, has much darker skies and we will be designated very soon.

    It is a win for all in both communities, maybe reign in ideas like lighting the rocks with neon and spotlights.

    That will not happen in Big Park.

  8. Sedona’s Designation as International Dark-Sky Community Raised Bar for Other Communities Seeking the Designation

    Keep Sedona Beautiful is very excited that Sedona has been named the 6th International Dark-Sky Community in the US and the 8th in the world! We thank the community for their support in pursuing this well-deserved designation from the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

    In the August 6 edition of the Red Rock News, Sedona Councilwoman Barbara Litrell was quoted, “On one hand we don’t meet the criteria [for a Dark-Sky Community designation by the IDA] and on the other hand we don’t deserve it.” Fortunately, it is the IDA who determines whether Sedona meets the stringent requirements to be named a Dark-Sky Community and it is the IDA who determines whether Sedona deserves it.

    To set the record straight: the IDA did not lower its standards when it designated Sedona as a Dark-Sky Community. In fact, Sedona was held to a higher standard than the Dark-Sky Communities designated before because the IDA raised the bar specifically for Sedona, not for any other applicant for the Dark-Sky Community designation before Sedona’s.

    The additional IDA outdoor lighting requirements levied on the City were met when two new lighting policies were adopted by the City Council on June 24, 2014. With this, the IDA determined Sedona had passed the higher-bar hurdle and granted Sedona the Dark-Sky Community designation.

    And from now on, all applicants for the Dark-Sky Community designation by the IDA will be held to that higher standard. Sedona’s successful efforts for earning the designation thus set the bar higher than it was before, and as a result will make all future Dark-Sky Communities even better.

    This designation calls for celebration by all who proclaim to care for Sedona’s dark sky, and for working together to preserve dark skies for future generations.

    If you need further verification of the Sedona Dark-Sky Community designation, please contact John Barentine at the IDA office in Tucson, John@darksky.org.

    Joanne Kendrick
    Chair, KSB Dark-Sky Committee

  9. then…… the standards were lowered to allow Sedona to become dark sky compliant and then you are saying you raised the bar somehow by dimming the lights a tad lower after the standards had been lowered to allow you to become compliant??

    Sounds like double talk.

  10. It’s more than double-talk because in addition to IDA lowering its standards for compliance to receive its DS designation, the former Executive Director, Bob Parks, was replaced.

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