To the editor:
Yachats is magical place blessed with an abundance of natural beauty to enjoy. While everyone appreciates the magnificent Pacific Ocean to the west and Cape Perpetua to the south, one of the things that many people fail to realize is our magnificent nighttime sky.
We are a small community and in some areas of town you can view the night sky and even see the Milky Way. Unfortunately in other areas of town we have too much light pollution, and people can’t see many stars from their homes, I would like Yachats to move in a positive direction towards limiting light pollution.
Since moving to Yachats more than five years ago, I’ve had several conversations with people who have expressed concern about the nighttime light in our community. Many people would love to be able to view the stars from their yards, unfortunately, they can’t because of the obtrusive light. I also hear many people talk about dark skies and achieving a dark sky designation. This is not as easy as it sounds.
The International Dark Sky Association exists with the mission, “To Preserve and Protect the Nighttime Environment, and Our Heritage of Dark Skies Through Environmentally Responsible, Outdoor Lighting.” I would like to see us achieve this in Yachats. Once achieving the International Dark Sky designation as a community we can then attract like-minded visitors.
There are several minimum requirements a community must meet to get a dark sky designation. Basically it includes a comprehensive lighting policy, which is much more involved than the current lighting ordinance in Yachats. It also requires a community commitment to dark skies which usually means some type of organization that works towards educating the community. This is where I would like to begin.
I am organizing a Night Sky Initiative with the following proposed goals:
- To promote improved outdoor nighttime quality of life for residents and visitors;
- To pursue dark sky preservation and restoration;
- To promote responsible outdoor lighting which allows people to feel safe and secure in their neighborhoods;
- To support protection of human health, nocturnal habitats, public enjoyment of the night sky, and areas ideal for professional and amateur astronomy;
- To encourage our community to identify dark skies as a valuable community asset and aspiration;
- To achieve International Dark Sky Association designation as a dark sky community.
Our first meeting will be held in the Yachats Commons pavilion at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 18. Please come and bring any like minded folks with you. Please contact me with any questions at 541-270-1915 or by email at y62andy44@gmail.com
— Ann Stott, Yachats
The Yachats fire station is one of the worst offenders around here. The light up flag poles are on all night. The exterior lights do not point down enough and instead light up and reflect on all the surrounding vegetation which looks like a UFO landed over there. You may want to look at this as a bad example of light pollution in a forested area.
If any individual would like Dark Skies all one needs to do is go inland into the forest less than a mile away. The Dark Sky initiative was passed during the pandemic when little public input was available. The council meetings were available only through Zoom and not open to public discourse. Public person-to-person discourse is needed via open public council meetings especially on topics that affect every single property owner in the town. Businesses need light for their signs and for the safety of their property. Homeowners also need adequate lighting at night. I enjoy landscape lighting throughout my property. The lights are not intrusive and of low wattage that provide a joyful and magical glow in the evening throughout the yard. I also have bears living nearby who love to stroll down into our neighborhood looking for tasty treats especially during the summer months. Proper lighting to see adequately at night is critical when we take our pets out to do their business or simply walk throughout our own property. The idea of a relatively small group of people imposing their idea of “pollution” through ordinance thus placing restrictions on the entire citizenry is divisive. We need light for safety. We need to see who is around our homes whether human or beast. We have wild animals among us. We need to be aware of them and that means we need to actually see them. We have all sorts of tourists and wanderers coming through our village throughout the seasons and we must be aware of them and see them as they pass by our homes and stroll up and down our streets. We have no police department. Therefore, we are neighbors who look out for one another. We all enjoy the stars. Is it necessary to place restrictions on all the citizenry of the town to enjoy the night sky? Take a short trip up the Yachats River Road or head a mile north or south on Hwy 101 and view the stars to your heart’s content. Please do not place requirements on everyone so star gazers can view the Milky Way from their back porch.