March 30, 2023 at 11:59 a.m.
Residents asked to join Northwoods Lights Out!
Enjoy the night sky, help wildlife
Residents asked to join Northwoods Lights Out!
Light pollution can make things especially difficult for nocturnal species. Illuminating a bat roost can even cause bats to desert that roost.
The normal routines of many insects, too, are interrupted by too much light. All sources of artificial light have the potential to cause firefly population declines, for instance.
Migrating birds have been known to be thrown off course. It is estimated that light pollution contributes to millions of bird mortalities. Artificial light can even disrupt the biological clocks of some birds, impacting the timing of migration and other seasonal behaviors such as mating.
Lights Out!
It is common in many places in the Northwoods to see lakeshores lit up with many different types of lights. But turning those lights out can help both residents and visitors alike enjoy even more of the beauty the area has to offer. Exploring the night sky, watching fireflies, seeing shooting stars and even identifying constellations are just some of the enjoyable activities that can be undertaken in the absence of artificial light.
"Oneida and Vilas County Land & Water Conservation Departments are promoting two summer weekends to enjoy the night," Vilas County's Quita Sheehan said in a recent press release. "We encourage you to turn off your lights for a few hours, go outside, and look up and around you! Listening in the darkness can also lead to exciting discoveries! Make this an event for your lake group or educational organization."
The Lights Out! Dates will include Firefly Watch on the weekend of June 17-18 and Milky Way and Perseid Meteor Watch on the weekend of August 12-13. Sheehan said the hope in setting particular dates for the Lights Out! Events is to raise awareness of light pollution issues and to highlight the wonders of the night sky. The call is to turn off all nighttime lights during those weekends as well as to switch off motion detector lights. Not only will this help save energy and money, Sheehan said, but it will help fireflies, migrating birds and other creatures, organizers note.
For more information, see the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department website at www.oclra.org/special-projects.html or call the department at 715-369-7835.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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