Two National Parks, one in the U.S. and one in Canada have teamed up to win a joint designation as an International Dark Sky park, a status that recognizes an area free of light pollution and open to visitors who want to see what city lights prevent: the dark sky and the stars.
Glacier National Park in Montana and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta worked together to win the designation by the International Dark Sky Association, which has been promoting the idea since 2001. Among the features the parks worked on was low-level LED lighting that allows visitors to move safely without lighting up the sky.
Pete Webster, acting superintendent at Glacier National Park, told press that “Dark night skies are an important wilderness characteristic at Glacier National Park…Clearly seeing the expanse of the universe increases a person’s sense of solitude well beyond that of the terrestrial landscape. A Dark Skies designation aids International Peace Park visitors in finding their own wilderness solitude.”
