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In the NoCo

Why are Dark Sky communities spreading across Colorado?

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A view of the night sky from Ridgway. Towns across Colorado are pursuing Dark Sky Community status to reduce light pollution and bolster local tourism.
Aaron Watson
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DarkSky Colorado
A view of the night sky from Ridgway. Towns across Colorado are pursuing Dark Sky Community status to reduce light pollution and bolster local tourism.

Adjusting street lamps and other exterior lights to allow the stars to shine more brilliantly – that's part of the process for becoming a certified Dark Sky community. in 22 countries around the world have this designation.

Advocates say limiting light pollution helps preserve expansive views of the night sky, and helps nocturnal creatures thrive. And the Colorado Tourism Office believes the Dark Sky designation helps attract visitors.

Town leaders in toward becoming an official Dark Sky community. They would join five other towns in Colorado that already have that designation. About two dozen more Dark Sky places are in the pipeline, including communities and parks across the state.

Aaron Watson is with the group . He joined host Erin O'Toole to discuss the problem with light pollution, and why a growing number of Colorado towns are taking this idea of dark skies so seriously.

that Watson mentions near the end of the conversation.

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
As the host of KUNC’s new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.
Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.