Cedar Breaks National Monument is going for the gold — and for the pitch black

The International Dark-Sky Association announced on Tuesday that Cedar Breaks National Monument would become the next park in Utah to be dark sky certified.

The park will be formally reviewed in late January and receive bronze, silver or gold status by the second week of February, said John Barentine, a program manager from the non-profit association that works to stop light pollution.

Barentine said the one-to-two-year process of selecting and certifying a Dark Sky Park is extremely thorough. The certification recognizes conservative use of artificial light of all kinds and particularly the reduction of blue light emissions, which are a known ecological hazard, Barentine said.

"Our process is fairly rigorous and balanced against the fact we're a very small organization, by typical non-profit standards," Barentine said.

An association-certified Dark Sky Park is a land mass possessing an exceptionally starry sky and nocturnal environment protected for its educational, scientific and natural value, in addition to public recreation and enjoyment. Six such locations have been certified so far in Utah.

Gold status parks consist of natural, non-polluted or near-natural light, said Leesa Ricci, the dark sky interpreter for Cedar Breaks and also the director of the Southern Utah Space Foundation.

"We know we will be dark sky certified but we are right on the cusp of receiving gold status, so we're really crossing our fingers that we get gold," Ricci said.

Silver status consists of minor pollution and artificial light disturbance with exemplary light-scapes, while bronze is classified as a park not meeting requirements of silver but offering people, animals and plants a respite from a degraded nocturnal environment

The monument is about 25 miles away from Cedar City and Ricci said the park is making attempts to communicate with residents about the benefits of reducing night light.

Fred Hayes, the director of the Utah division of parks and recreation, said although national parks do not fall under his jurisdiction he believes Dark Sky Parks will boost all-around tourism in Utah.

"When people read about parks and recreation in Utah it will make them more likely to visit," he said, noting that tourists have been drawn to previously certified places like Dead Horse Point State Park and Goblin Valley State Park "to see the dark sky."