Serious Starlight

Big Bend Conservation Alliance’s Serious Starlight program assists homeowners and municipalities in the region that wish to opt-in to night-sky-friendly lighting with fixtures that point light down at the ground rather than up into the sky.

This work supports the Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve, a designation which the International Dark-Sky Association has bestowed on the region. This designation is the largest “Dark Sky Reserve” in the world and helps protect major wildlife habitats and migration corridors in the Big Bend region of Far West Texas and Northern Mexico. The designation boosts regional tourism, which is the major economic driver of the area, and the astronomical research being conducted at the McDonald Observatory.

Marfa Housing Authority before (top) with mercury vapor fixtures and after (bottom) with fully shielded fixtures installed. Notice in the bottom image how you can’t see the lights in the background because they are now fully shielded.

As part of the designation, the area’s residents and its municipalities are required to demonstrate ongoing efforts to reduce light pollution. The Serious Starlight program gives the region the chance to make this progress without putting undue hardship on residents and towns. The program rolls out in two parts—a municipal program and a residential program.

Municipal Program

All towns in the region updated outdoor lighting ordinances to support obtaining a "Dark Sky Reserve" designation from the International Dark-Sky Association. In a parallel process, Big Bend Conservation Alliance worked to understand what this designation would mean for the region and the organization mapped non-compliant municipal and residential fixtures, to quantify the changes ahead.

Mapping revealed that the worst areas of light pollution were occurring lower income neighborhoods often in formerly segregated areas of town. In one example: 60% of municipal fixtures of the town were compliant, but the compliant fixtures were mostly located in affluent areas of town and, as a result, the majority of the light pollution was affecting lower income residents.

As part of the municipal program, BBCA offers to assist municipalities in switching their street lights to dark sky compliant fixtures. While some municipalities have already made headway in this work, many have not and have scarce funds to become compliant. 

Residential Program

Big Bend Conservation Alliance offers to assist residents in switching their old mercury vapor guard lights to dark sky compliant fixtures. The mercury vapor guard lights are a substantial problem in fighting light pollution in the Big Bend because they emit light in all directions and are not compliant with city ordinances; many are more than twenty years old.

BBCA provides financial assistance to homeowners who switch out mercury vapor fixtures (left) with dark sky compliant fixtures (right).

As part of the residential incentive program, residents with qualifying fixtures can opt-in to the program. BBCA will work with AEP to have the light changed and pay AEP directly so there are no out-of-pocket expenses. The resident saves $3 on their monthly electric bill and receives a $50 gift card to the local grocery store for their participation.

Serious Starlight is supported by the public through a GoFundMe fundraiser. Additional funds have been raised for the program through the generosity of Albert & Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, Big Bend Telephone, Permian Basin Area Foundation, Still Water Foundation, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and Union Pacific Foundation.