Nebraska’s starry nights could drive tourism to the state

LINCOLN — In September 2022, Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area became the first International Dark Sky Park in Nebraska. This certification came from the International Dark-Sky Association, the world’s leading authority on light pollution and night sky preservation. It marked a huge milestone in elevating Nebraska as an astrotourism destination.

Astrotourists often travel miles from their hometown to experience a dark sky, typically in rural areas where there is little to no light pollution. Though the idea may seem unremarkable to some, 80% of North Americans can’t see the Milky Way at night, according to NPR.

International Dark Sky Parks are “publicly- or privately-owned spaces protected for natural conservation that implement good outdoor lighting and provide dark sky programs for visitors,” according to the association’s website. Parks are one of five types of designations offered by the International Dark Sky Places Program, which was founded in 2001.

Other designations include International Dark Sky Communities, International Dark Sky Reserves, International Dark Sky Sanctuaries and Urban Night Sky Places. Each has its own set of guidelines depending specialist at the Nebraska Tourism Commission, began the application for Merritt in fall of 2018. She had just moved to Nebraska from Flagstaff, Arizona, the first Dark Sky City in the United States, which gave her the idea to look for dark skies in the state.

She has since been at the forefront of promoting Nebraska as an astrotourism destination.

“I became interested in astrotourism because it has been increasing in popularity in recent years,” she said. “I saw it as an opportunity to create positive perceptions about Nebraska and increase the scope of offerings tourism destinations here can advertise.”

Currently, there are several other locations in Nebraska that are considering pursuing an International Dark Sky Place designation including Niobrara National Scenic River in Valentine, Willa Cather Memorial Prairie in Red Cloud and either Scotts Bluff National Monument or Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area in Gering. Bartja estimated that Willa Cather Memorial Prairie will be certified by the end of the year.

“I don’t think there is an ideal number we should aim for, but designating as many as we can could go a long way in changing perceptions about our state,” she said. “Building a handful of designations peripherally will really help to show that we’re part of that elite network of dark sky destinations.”

A Dark Sky Place designation requires a rigorous application process. Bartja first had to conduct initial sky quality readings to confirm Merritt met the requirements for a designation and create a budget proposal to update Merritt’s outdoor lighting to be dark sky friendly (all bulbs had to be 3,000 Kelvin or less and fully shielded).

From there she met with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials, who, as land managers, had to agree to the investment before she began the formalized process. That process included many rounds of intensive editing to the application, six more sky quality surveys and developing dedicated educational programming, resulting in a 110-page application.

Merritt met the more intense sky quality requirements to become an International Dark Sky Sanctuary,