AVI KWA AME NATIONAL MONUMENT’S DARK SKY PROJECT
Photograph by Steve Dudrow.
Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is home to unique plants and animals, cultural and historical sites, and dark night skies, where you are able to see the moon, stars, planets and the Milky Way Galaxy with the naked eye. When this 506,000 acres was designated under the Antiquities Act in 2023, part of the proclamation was a direction to protect these beautiful views of the heavens at night. In 2025, Friends of Avi Kwa Ame embarked on a 5-year Dark Sky Project, and you can help us in this effort to protect and even improve upon these views!
Our Dark Sky Project is a collaboration with the co-managers and stewards of the monument (BLM, NPS and a coalition of affiliated tribes), Friends of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, the Las Vegas Astronomical Society (LVAS), and the non-profit organization Dark Sky International. Through this project, we have assessed different areas of the monument to find the best night-sky viewing sites, and are regularly monitoring the light pollution and night sky darkness in these locations. Over the next decade, we plan to make improvements in wayfinding, road conditions, parking, camping and on-site kiosks to help visitors utilize these areas to enjoy the night sky. We are also dedicated to creating visitor resources for sky viewing and appreciation on our website, and in our brochures, newsletter, and the Gold Beam.
We have been hosting several astronomy events a year with LVAS, and providing chances for the public to learn more about the night sky as an important natural resource, to explore ecological, cultural and historical stories that relate to the night sky, and to discuss how we can all help protect dark skies through choosing compatible nighttime lighting sources and encouraging local dark-friendly sky policies.
Most excitingly, we are working to achieve an International Dark Sky Park designation for Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, through the non-profit organization Dark Sky International. This designation is achieved through an extensive, 2-year application process that includes light monitoring, an artificial light inventory of public buildings within the monument, public outreach, and consistent events to connect the public with the night sky. There are approximately 200 Dark Sky Places globally, and this designation will certify that Avi Kwa Ame National Monument is a place with outstanding dark sky conditions and an ongoing commitment to resource protection and public access.
Our future world: brighter and brighter?
According to researchers at UCLA, light pollution is increasing globally at an average rate of 10% per year! If the trend continues, a child born today in a region where 250 stars are visible may only be able to see 100 in the sky by their 18th birthday. Plants and animals depend on Earth’s daily cycle of light and dark to govern life-sustaining behaviors such as reproduction, nourishment, sleep, and protection from predators, and scientific evidence suggests that artificial light at night has negative and deadly effects on many creatures, including amphibians, birds, mammals, insects, and plants.