NIGHT SKY AND DARK ENVIRONMENTS: BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR ARTIFICIAL LIGHT AT NIGHT ON BLM-MANAGED LANDS TECHNICAL NOTE 457 39 very large industrial facilities that operate at night and typically have relatively high lighting levels. In other cases, they involve very tall structures (200 feet or taller) that require hazard navigation lighting, which, while not particularly bright, may be visible for long distances. The lighting used on BLM-managed lands can be divided into three major types: 1. Lighting for structures such as buildings; transmission, wind, and communication towers; and storage tanks. 2. Lighting for transportation, including roads and paths or trails. 3. Lighting for activities, such as mining or mirror washing at solar power plants. Although this technical note presents BMPs for all three types of lighting applications, most of the BMPs are either generic good lighting practices or pertain primarily to structure lighting, as this is the most common type of lighting on BLM-managed lands. The following facilities are commonly found on BLM-managed lands and could be appropriate for application of the BMPs for minimizing sources of light pollution: • Amphitheaters • Athletic fields • Boat docks • Buildings and structures (e.g., offices, mechanical storage, barns, bunkhouses, cabins, fee stations, fire stations, garages, bathrooms, lighthouses, museums, pump/switch houses) • Communication towers • Electrical transmission and substations • Energy facilities (oil, gas, coal) • Fuel distribution stations • Mining facilities • Parking lots • Pathways and trails • Recreational facilities (campgrounds, dump stations, fish cleaning stations, kiosks, picnic areas, shooting ranges) • Renewable energy facilities (geothermal, solar, wind) • Roads • Wareyards (storage and laydown areas) Activities (such as construction maintenance, oil and gas drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and large-scale recreation at night) and associated areas requiring lighting (such as construction or recreation activity staging areas) are also appropriate for incorporating lighting BMPs. BMPs are not requirements, and not every BMP listed is appropriate for every project. Some BMPs do not apply in all situations. There may be technical reasons why a specific BMP cannot be implemented. For example, using amber lighting may be ineffective where task requirements require good color rendition. And finally, there may be cost-benefit concerns that might make some BMPs impractical or inadvisable in a particular situation. For example, using tunable CCT lighting controls might not make sense for a single luminaire that is rarely turned on. In all cases, applicable laws and regulations concerning lighting supersede BMPs that do not achieve those requirements. The local BLM safety manager can help identify safety issues associated with lighting plans or any safety-related requirements that might affect BMP implementation.
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