Wyoming’s Teton County Is World's First DarkSky-Certified County

There’s another International DarkSky Community in Wyoming. But it isn’t a city or town, it’s an entire county.

Teton County has become the first county in the world to be designated an International DarkSky Community by DarkSky International. 

To reduce light pollution and keep the night skies over Jackson and everywhere in Teton County as dark as possible, all public lights across 6,785 square miles of western Wyoming will be replaced or retrofitted by 2030.

“Teton County went above and beyond to get this certification,” said Michael Rymer with DarkSky International. “It took them the better part of 10 years to get the data and do the work that was required, but they were very thorough about what they were doing to protect these dark skies.”

Sinks Canyon State Park in Lander became the state’s first International DarkSky Park in 2023, and Jackson Hole Airport is now the world’s first airport to achieve DarkSky status.

These certifications have laid the framework for a bright future of pristine darkness in the Cowboy State. 

Lukewarm To Unanimous

An International DarkSky Community is a municipality that meets specific lighting ordinances that reduce light pollution. Such compliance requires public and private cooperation, as the ordinances impact everything from streetlights to private homes.

The effort to certify Teton started with Wyoming Stargazing, a Jackson non-profit that offers astronomy tours and other programs in Teton County and Grand Teton National Park. Samuel Singer, the founder and executive director of Wyoming Stargazing, spearheaded the decade-long initiative.

“I’ve been a lover of the night sky since I was a kid in northern Nevada,” Singer told Cowboy State Daily. “My dad took me out to watch lunar eclipses and meteor showers. When I came out to Jackson 20 years ago, I realized some parts of the Jackson Valley had those incredible night skies, and other areas were losing them.”

Singer first approached the Town of Jackson and Teton County commissioners about updating their exterior lighting standards. He described the response as “lukewarm.”

“There was already language about the importance of dark night skies in their respective land development regulations, but I don't think anyone had really thought about what it meant to actually protect dark night skies in practice, and there wasn’t an appetite to make any commitments,” he said.

Singer spent the next eight years doing community outreach through astronomy tours and programs throughout Teton County, gaining momentum by increasing public awareness. When he reapproached the town and the county again in 2022, his efforts were vindicated.

“To our great surprise and enthusiasm, we got unanimous support to make it happen,” he said. “The town council, county commissioners, and town and county staff were incredibly supportive.”

Furthermore, the town of Jackson and Teton County were interested in taking the extra steps to become certified as an International DarkSky community. With a grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson, Singer started the effort in earnest.

“Singer took the lead on the project from the inside,” Rymer said. “He understood DarkSky International’s requirements and got permission to pursue the certification.”

Top-Down And Grassroots

Certification as a DarkSky community or park is more than a feel-good effort. DarkSky International requires certain thresholds to be met before a certification is granted, and annual reports be submitted to review the progress on long-term commitments.

“We require a legally binding ordinance that meets DarkSky International’s minimum requirement for our certifications,” Rymer said. “The communities involved have to go through their legal processes to make this work.”

With the Community Foundation of Jackson grant, Wyoming Stargazing hired experts to conduct a complete exterior public lighting inventory of every public light owned by the town of Jackson and every unincorporated community in Teton County. Through satellite imagery and firsthand evaluation, the survey determined which lights were and weren’t DarkSky compliant.

When the survey was complete, Singer submitted the findings to the town council and Teton County commissioners, along with a list of proposed updates to their exterior lighting standards.

“We proposed 51 changes, and they wholeheartedly accepted 49 of them,” Singer said. “The other two were just icing on the cake, beyond what was needed for DarkSky certification. 

“The Teton County sustainability coordinator and the Town of Jackson ecosystem stewardship manager are 100% behind this project. They already started doing the lighting conversions even before the certification was awarded.”

 After dotting the i's and crossing the t's, the application was submitted to DarkSky International. On April 11, Teton County and the Town of Jackson were officially certified as an International DarkSky Community.

Ultimately, both Jackson and Teton County adopted new lighting retrofit plans. They’ve committed to having 100% of public lighting be DarkSky compliant by 2030.

“Their application was one of the longest we’ve seen in DarkSky International's history,” Rymer said. “They went above and beyond as far as what they had to say about their efforts to change lighting around the county and work with other agencies that have a stake in the designation.”

Singer was “pretty stoked” when he got the news.

Achieving DarkSky certification requires municipal ordinances, but that process usually starts with the dedicated efforts of residents of those communities. Rymer said Teton County’s successful certification was a “top-down” and “grassroots” effort, both of which are needed for these efforts to succeed.

“Achieving these certifications is meant to be a challenge, and the community has to be fully involved and willing to take on the challenge,” he said. “We're not trying to make it impossible. To have success, it's supposed to be meaningful change. So, it's more than just getting the word out. It’s top down through policy, and grassroots through volunteerism.”

A Finite Resource

There are 160 certified DarkSky Places in North America, which recognize areas outside or beyond municipalities. Colorado has 30, and Utah has 32.

Wyoming has two certified DarkSky Places: Sinks Canyon State Park and Teton County. Dark skies are plentiful across Wyoming, primarily because of the lack of development and abundance of public lands. 

Space might be infinite, but dark skies aren’t.

“Natural dark skies are a finite resource,” said Max Gilbraith, planetarium coordinator at the University of Wyoming. “Just like how we can keep Wyoming’s rivers and lands clean, light pollution is just waste we can reduce with mitigation strategies.”

Several studies have shown that light pollution can impact the health of humans and animals. Simple measures, like installing light shielding or limiting outdoor light, can significantly reduce the light pollution in the sky.

Day and night are more than times of day. Singer said they’re essential elements of life.

Over 20 years of research have shown that natural dark night skies are essential for life on Earth,” he said. “All life evolved with the natural cycles of light and darkness, and there are many, many detrimental effects seen in all species in the places where natural darkness has been replaced by artificial light.”

Gilbraith added that many people travel to Wyoming to experience its natural dark skies. Stargazing is its own industry, and one of the many natural wonders that draws people to Wyoming.

“There are folks in the United Kingdom and Japan who can’t see the Milky Way from anywhere,” he said. “It’s exciting to see the stargazing industry growing. People are taking newfound appreciation for dark skies in their homes, but we have so much more to offer in Wyoming.”

To Infinity And Beyond

Gilbraith was thrilled by the news of Teton County’s world-first, especially because of what it’ll mean for the recently opened Snow King Observatory.

“Snow King Observatory shares its telescope with the University of Wyoming,” he said. “Another Wyoming telescope means we can do more hard science and research in Wyoming. Teton County getting DarkSky certified is a pretty exciting development.

Singer and Wyoming Stargazing could rest on their laurels. With the momentum they’ve gained, they want to keep going.

Wyoming’s next certified DarkSky place could be Grand Teton National Park. Singer said he’s been working with Grand Teton and the National Park Service, and they’re “quietly working” on their dark sky light conversions.

“Grand Teton is on a slightly different timeline than Jackson and Teton County, but they’re very supportive of being DarkSky certified,” he said. “When they're ready to pull the trigger and submit an application, we’re ready to help them do that.”

DarkSky International certified Jackson and Teton County based on their effort and commitment to making public lights DarkSky compliant. The standard won’t apply to private businesses and residences, something Wyoming Stargazing will try to address with its new Dark Sky Friendly Lighting Program.

“Our program will encourage homeowners, property management companies, and other commercial businesses to voluntarily make the same dark sky lighting conversions that the town and the county have committed to for public lights,” he said. “We want to help private residences and businesses make the same conversions by 2030.”

The same team Wyoming Stargazing hired to do an exterior public lighting inventory for Jackson and Teton County has done the same survey for Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. That has laid the framework Grand Teton is following, and is a ready-made roadmap for Yellowstone to do the same.

DarkSky Wyoming

Singer’s ultimate goal? The largest International DarkSky preserve in the world, encompassing the entire Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

“I'd like to see Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and all the surrounding national forests and communities get together and create a natural dark sky preserve,” he said. “I feel pretty confident it can be done, and there's definitely the will and motivation to make it happen.”

In the meantime, Singer will submit an annual report to DarkSky International to show the Town of Jackson and Teton County are meeting their goals and remain compliant with their certification as a DarkSky community. Preserving natural dark skies is the goal, but it doesn’t happen overnight.

“It’s not about an immediate change,” he said. “It’s about making the commitment and showing progress. I have no doubt that the folks in charge of those respective retrofit programs will meet their targets.”

Teton County’s DarkSky application is available on the DarkSky International website. Rymer hopes it will serve as a resource other communities can emulate to obtain their own certifications.

“We want to protect what natural dark skies exist but also reduce as much light pollution as possible by educating public residents and commercial enterprises about the need for responsible outdoor lighting,” he said. “We want communities to work together with the approval of their local leadership, because it’s an uphill battle unless everyone buys in.”

Wyoming has pristine night skies, which Singer sees as an unprecedented opportunity. With the right initiative and commitment from governments and communities, Wyoming could make history by preserving its darkness for all time.

“This isn't just about the enjoyment and beauty of the night sky,” he said. “It’s about making nighttime ecosystems as healthy as they can be and protecting public safety and human health. Wyoming’s largest communities are just over 60,000 people. There’s a huge opportunity for every town in the state, and eventually the entire state, to get certified.”

Gilbraith is supportive of this larger vision for Wyoming. Most Wyomingites can take dark skies for granted, but they could disappear if they aren’t protected.

“Protecting dark skies doesn't seem as pressing as a sludge-filled river or anything like that,” he said, “but it's still a treasure that is hard to regain once it's lost.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.