Clear night skies return to Lake McDonald
The orange tint of the light at Lake McDonald blocks an otherwise clear night sky. (Chris Peterson photo)
A light that was compromising the dark skies at the foot of Glacier National Park’s Lake McDonald will be taken down.
The bright LED light at the Glacier Park Boat Co. dock would cast a broad circle of light well out onto the lake as well as up into the sky as it reflected on the snow.
The Hungry Horse News brought problem of the light to the Park Service’s attention.
The light may seem like a trivial matter to some, but Glacier and its sister park Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada were named the first International Dark Sky Park in 2017 by the International Dark-Sky Association.
As such, the Park Service looks to limit light pollution wherever possible and has retrofitted or replaced thousands of light fixtures over the years.
This particular light was not owned by the Boat Company or the Park Service. It was owned by Flathead Electric. As such, Flathead Electric will take the light down, said spokeswoman Courtney Stone.
Glacier Supervisory biologist Mark Biel said that because the light is on a concession property, it can ask for the light to be modified to meet dark sky standards, or be taken down entirely.
In this case, the Boat Company asked the light be taken down and it will put up a different light for security purposes in the summer months, when it has boats and other equipment at the dock.
But in the winter, there are no boats at the dock. It’s also one of the few places in the winter months that’s relatively accessible — on a clear night a short walk reveals some of the best night skies in the United States. Biel said it would also ask Glacier Electric Co-Op to take down or modify lights it owns on the east side the park.
According to the Dark Sky Association, dark sky “basic” lights should be only be on when needed, only light the area that needs it, be no brighter than necessary, minimize blue light emissions and eliminate upward-directed light.
Clear winter night skies in Glacier are particularly spectacular as there is little to no traffic on roads and the sky has no haze from wildfires or other pollutants.