Is New Hampshire's 9/11 Mount Washington Tribute a Proof of Concept for Responsible Use of Lighting the Sky?
This month, I had a ton of fun with three really great guests: Steve Mariconda of Dark Sky New Jersey, yes – there are folks who advocate for responsible lighting practices in the Garden State!; Researcher, astronomer, fiction writer, and much more, the great Diane Turnshek; and a guest who helped create and preserve two dark sky designated places (Bryce Canyon and Rio Grande del Norte National Monument), Gina Pearson! Below is a summary of the stories that we covered. However, as always, there’s so many more facts, details, and discussions on the recorded shows. So be sure to have a listen at LightPollutionNews.com: Luminance Lace and A Sparkle of Starlinks.
On September 9 - 12th, two light beams shot to the sky memorializing the 25th anniversary of the World Trade Center bombings These lights pierced upwards on Mount Washington, located outside of North Conway, NH. Mount Washington sits as the highest peak in the Northeastern United States. As such, these light beams were reported to be visible upwards of 135 miles away. At permitting, New Hampshire State Parks raised no environmental concerns. Then, in July, Cornell ecologist Andrew Farnsworth raised the alarm. The NYC Bird Alliance, New Hampshire Fish and Game, and New Hampshire State Parks collaborated to build come up with a mitigation system should birds get trapped in the beams. The runtime of the event was even shortened from 3 AM to midnight. Thermal scopes monitored bird activity throughout the memorial. No reported birds were impacted.
In other bird migration news, the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg shut its lights off between midnight and 6 AM until November 15th. A Nebraska community college student named Dorian Dunham documented 51 bird collisions back in May 2025 from a glass building on campus, then partnered with US Fish and Wildlife to apply bird dots and implement light reductions. And lastly, the Centennial Bridge in Davenport, Iowa turned off its decorative lights for migration through to November 1st.
On the science front, a study at Westhavelland Nature Park in Germany found that 1800 Kelvin colored LEDs attracted 38% to 44% fewer insects than high-pressure sodium lights and 45% to 51% percent fewer insects than 4000K colored LEDs. A firefly study out of a Kuala Lumpur park found that each additional streetlight in a 100 meter section reduced firefly abundance by 37%. Improvements in tree canopy increased the odds of firefly abundance.
Dark Sky International's Capture the Dark competition ended in quite the controversy when entrants flagged two winning photos for utilizing mixing focal lengths to compose their images. Dark Sky International even closed social media comments for fear over harassment of their staff. Dark Sky International acknowledged inconsistencies in rule interpretation.
Camp Bullis, which sits outside of San Antonio, trains military medics in nighttime operations. Urban sprawl now produces persistent twilight on the facility's southern end. A retired combat-medic instructor partnered with the Hill Country Alliance to push the military buffer zone beyond the current 5-mile limit. Due to the centralized structure of certain policies in Texas, that effort will head to Austin in 2027.
New York's Dark Skies Protection Act stalled in both legislative chambers. Media outlets appear to have misunderstood the bill, claiming that it would result in the extinguishing of all lights statewide after 11 PM. In reality, the bill required shielded fixtures or motion sensors for lights remaining on past that hour. The bill requires reintroduction in 2027.
Everyone’s favorite satellite company, Reflect Orbital, received FCC approval for Earendil-1, a test satellite unfurling a 3,500 sqft mirror, making it potentially the largest satellite in orbit. The company plans on-demand illumination of 3 mile areas. In alignment with the Trump administration policy of “Delete, Delete, Delete,” the FCC further signaled plans to strip NEPA (National Environmental Review Act) review requirements from space-based activities.
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