Oregon May Soon Be Home To A Huge Dark Sky Reserve

Do you like to stargaze? If you’re someone who likes to look up at the stars, then you know that the darker an area is, the better. You may have heard of the International Dark-Sky Association; this group designates places as International Dark-Sky Parks, Reserves, Communities, or Sanctuaries. All the places that they’ve found are just perfect for viewing the stars above at night. In southeastern Oregon, there’s currently a grassroots movement to create one of the world’s largest dark sky reserves. A group called the Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network is leading the charge to have three of the state’s least populated counties recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association as one great big reserve of immense darkness. Read on to learn more about it!

There are three big counties in southeastern Oregon. They are right in a row. The westernmost one is Lake County. It has a population of 8,276 people.

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Harney County is next. It has a population of just 7,575 people.

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The county in the southeastern corner of Oregon is Malheur County. This county has the biggest population of the three; 31,693 people live there.

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These three counties are full of wildlife and natural beauty. They are wonderful places to explore.

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You’ll also find a lot of wildlife in this part of the state. It’s home to the massive 422-square mile Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, shown here.

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In Lake, Harney, and Malheur Counties, there are a lot of great things, but there aren’t a lot of people. That means there aren’t a lot of buildings, either - and therefore not much unnatural light created by humans.

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It’s this important factor that makes these counties absolutely perfect for stargazing.

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The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network is hard at work getting the communities, businesses, local governments, ranchers, state and federal agencies, and tribes in this area together to keep this part of the state as dark at night as possible. That way, people today and the people of future generations can continue to enjoy the dark skies and the incredible views of the stars in this region.

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To further solidify its mission, the group has applied to the International Dark-Sky Association for recognition. The application process is long and involved, but it’s a very worthy one.

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Dark places are not only great for stargazing by humans, but they are good for the birds and animals that live there, too.

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If Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network succeeds in gaining designation, these three counties will make up one of the biggest dark sky reserves in the world.

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There’s no need to wait for that, though. You can head on out to southeastern Oregon right now and enjoy the stars any time you’d like. The sky above awaits. Go see it!

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The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network has high hopes that this part of the state will be recognized as a Dark Sky Place by the International Dark-Sky Association. It has recently submitted a draft of its application and the group eagerly awaits a response. Time will tell. Until then and after that, be sure to get out there and enjoy the beauty of southeastern Oregon!