NIGHT SKY AND DARK ENVIRONMENTS: BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AT NIGHT ON BLM-MANAGED LANDS TECHNICAL NOTE 457 8 2.3 Recreation Values of Night Skies High-quality night skies and natural darkness are essential components of a variety of nighttime recreation activities that take place on public lands, including BLM-managed lands. Primary among these activities is astrotourism, a type of tourism that involves travel for the purpose of enjoying the night sky. Each year, thousands of people travel to remote environments—including national parks and BLMmanaged lands—to enjoy dark night skies. Many of them attend “star parties,” gatherings of amateur astronomers, typically equipped with binoculars and telescopes, where people observe the night sky. Small star parties may be one-night events, but large star parties may last several days, attracting hundreds or thousands of participants. A list of annual star parties in the U.S. and Canada includes more than 100 events, many of which take place in the western states on BLM-managed lands (Danko 2019). In addition to star parties, many other nighttime recreation activities take place on public lands, including night sky interpretive programs, backcountry recreation experiences (e.g., wilderness backpacking), camping and campfire events, night skiing and snowshoeing, night sky photography, nighttime wildlife viewing (e.g., owling), nighttime viewing of cultural and historical resources, viewing the aurora borealis and other natural night sky events, and festivals and special events (Smith and Hallo 2013). Many of these experiences, which depend on or are enhanced by high-quality night skies and natural darkness, have important economic and social benefits in addition to recreational benefits. Star parties are a popular nighttime recreation activity on BLM-managed lands, such as this one at Amboy Crater in California. Stargazing at the Alabama Hills National Scenic Area in California. Camping under the stars at Alabama Hills National Scenic Area in California.
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