Dark skies are spreading throughout the Gorge — or at least a love for them. And that love has now jumped the river and is blooming in both Oregon and Washington.
Last year, the Hood River City Council and the Wasco County Commission officially recognized International Dark Sky Week (IDSW) as a time to appreciate and defend our night skies against light pollution. This year, the White Salmon City Council is joining them to adopt a similar proclamation. So this year we have three local jurisdictions speaking up for dark skies. Kudos to those three leaders, and next year we hope to have even more.
The 2026 IDSW is next week (April 13-20), and dark sky lovers will celebrate all over the United States and in more than 70 countries. It’s a chance to remember that dark night skies are important for humans, for animals (including pollinators), for scientific discovery, and for the economy (about $3-7 billion worth of light is generated and wasted into the sky every year). You can learn more about this year’s IDSW from DarkSky International — the mothership of dark sky activities — at darksky.org/what-we-do/events/dark-sky-week.
IDSW is also a chance to celebrate progress, including here in the Gorge. In the past year, the folks designing the new Hood River-White Salmon bridge committed to using dark sky principles in their lighting. Mt. Hood Meadows hosted dark sky camping. Antelope, Oregon, was certified as Oregon’s first International Dark Sky Community, and Sisters followed shortly thereafter. The architects renovating the Waucoma Center building in Hood River promised “dark sky compatible” outdoor lighting. Ten Sky Quality Meters have been monitoring our Gorge skies nightly. The Lightwell Hotel in Hood River changed all 72 bulbs in its big outdoor sign to makes the sign less bright and less white. And very importantly, the Hood River City Council is working to put stronger dark sky protection into its new development code. A lot of good things have been happening — and continue to happen.
About now you might be asking “But what can I do to help?” Actually, you can do a lot, and pretty easily. Just look at your own outdoor lights — at home or at your business — and ask yourself five questions:
1. Is each light USEFUL? Does it serve a clear purpose? Some lights are simply unnecessary.
2. Is each light TARGETED? Is it shielded and aimed so that it points downward and only where it’s needed? Some lights scatter their light in all directions.
3. Is each light LOW LEVEL? Are you using the lowest wattage necessary? Some lights are too bright.
4. Is each light CONTROLLED? Are you using motion detectors or timers? Some lights operate when they’re not needed.
5. Is each light WARM COLORED? Is each light rated at 2700 Kelvin or less? Some lights are too “white.”
Whatever you do, please remember that we could lose our glorious night skies if we don’t pay attention. Let’s celebrate International Dark Sky Week next week. And as we at Dark Skies Gorge like to say: Let’s keep ourselves in the dark!
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Mike Hendricks, Mike McKeag, and Mark Zanmiller are the co-chairs of Dark Skies Gorge, an informal group of more than160 Gorge residents working on education and advocacy to fight light pollution in our area. Join them at dark.skies.gorge@gmail.com.
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