Protecting the night sky for health, beauty, and wildlife.
In 2000, Kalmiopsis Audubon Society, in cooperation with Coos Curry Electric Cooperative (CCEC) and the City of Port Orford, started a forward-looking project to reduce “sky glow” over Port Orford. See Port Orford Dark Sky featured in Oregon Coast Magazine!
Sky glow is the amber or pink light on the horizon that is visible from miles away as you approach nearly every city on the planet. The “glow” is caused by light that spills and escapes upward toward the sky. Inside the dome of “glow,” the night sky is greatly diminished to the point that, in many large cities, only the brightest celestial body–the moon–is visible.
An estimated 80 percent of people now living in North America and Western Europe no longer experience “real night” owing to light pollution. In many places, the starry sky view that has awed and inspired humanity for millennia has been lost.
Since the project first started, Kalmiopsis Audubon has helped to educate the Port Orford community about the special values of our stunning, still-dark night sky. In the first decade of this project, KAS volunteers worked with CCEC to retrofit more than 100 outdated mercury-vapor “yard lights”—some privately owned, some leased from CCEC—with shielding, known as “sky caps,” that direct the light to the ground.
Ubiquitous and cheap, the old-fashioned “yard lights” were responsible for the vast majority of escaped light, causing sky glow and glare. These bright lights also caused “light trespass” into neighboring yards and bedroom windows, diminishing quality of life for neighbors.
Kalmiopsis Audubon advocated for Port Orford’s first Dark Sky ordinance, adopted by council in 2010. More recently, KAS advocated for an updated ordinance, adopted in 2021, to close loopholes and to address emerging issues related to new lighting technology, including too-bright LED fixtures. Kalmiopsis Audubon also worked together with the City and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to ensure that the new streetlights to be erected along Highway 101 through downtown Port Orford in 2022 will comply with dark sky provisions of the new ordinance.
In general, proper lighting saves energy, cuts costs, reduces glare, protects the night sky, and makes good neighbors.
“Without the inspiration of starlight and the night, much of the world’s science, literature, art, and music would not exist.”
(See how it works in pictures!)
Help to Keep Our Sky Dark
Keep fixtures pointed downward where light is needed
Turn off lights when they are not needed
Choose bulbs with lower intensity and warm colored light (2500 Kelvins or less)
Talk with friends and neighbors about the value of our special dark sky
Pick the Right Light Fixtures
- Learn the basics of effective outdoor lighting at the Dark Sky Website
- Use Dark Sky-compatible light fixtures instead upward-leaking light fixtures.
- Use downward-facing light shades to make your light fixtures Dark Sky compliant, and shield your floodlights.
To see examples of good parking lot lighting in Port Orford, see the street lamps at Ray’s Food Place and Dollar General. To see some local examples of Dark-sky compliant outdoor lighting, check out the: Port Orford Community Coop, Mountain-Sea Fitness, The Castaway (shielded light on sign), and the Hawthorn Gallery.
The “Dark Sky” Movement
The movement to protect dark skies started with astronomers in Arizona wanting to conserve the opportunity to study the night sky. The idea spread quickly to people who simply wanted to enjoy the night sky from their backyards.
Nationally, there are now Dark Sky states, counties, cities, and sky parks. In Oregon, there are at least 8 cities–Sisters, Juniper, Port Orford, and Sandy, to name a few–and Deschutes County with Dark Sky ordinances. Internationally, there are Dark Sky nations and cities, and special Dark Sky parks.
For more information about the Dark Sky movement, check out the International Dark-Sky Association website.
Resources to Learn More
To learn more about the problem of light pollution, click here for a good article.
To learn more about the value of dark skies, watch this 6 minute video, called Losing the Dark.
To learn more about health impacts of night light, listen to this radio spot, called, Turning it Down.
To learn more about the economic benefits of Dark Skies, read this short post: 3 Benefits of Dark Sky Designation
For a more contemplative experience, read the essays in the wonderful book: Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark, available at the Port Orford Library (donated by KAS). Here’s a review.
Here is the updated Port Orford Outdoor Lighting Code, adopted unanimously by the City Council in June 2021, with the aim of conserving our town’s stunning night time sky.
For inspiration, enjoy this song by local musician Steve Montana, inspired by Port Orford’s beautiful night sky and our efforts to protect it.
Night sky photos on this page were taken in Port Orford by Lois Miller.