List of Dark Sky Preserves in Canada

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In Canada there are 20  Dark Sky Preserves with a total area of ​​about 60,000  km² . The light protection areas make up about 0.6% of the state area.

Light reserves in the Canadian Conservation Area

Canada was the first country in the world to designate explicit light protection areas and is still a leader in many ways, such as number (40% of all areas worldwide) and area (80% of the total area worldwide, with around 6 million  hectares far more than all of Switzerland). This is due on the one hand to the generally good starry sky in the huge polar regions in the north of Canada, and on the other hand to the committed nationwide astronomy. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada  (RASC, 1903) founded its own Light-Pollution Abatement Committee in 1991 , long before UNESCO or IUCN took up the topic. In 1999, the Torrance Barrens , a Conservation Reserve  (CR, on Crown land under the Public Lands Act by the Ministry of Natural Resources ), was the world's first light protection area. In 2013, the Wood Buffalo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in central northern Canada, was by far the largest protected area with almost 4½ million hectares.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada declares three categories of protected areas:

  • Dark-Sky Preserve  (DSP): Areas in which no artificial lighting is visible. The scattered light from outside remains under the natural brightness of the starry sky.
  • Urban Star Park  (USP): Areas where artificial lighting is strictly regulated. Stray light from outside is visible.
  • Nocturnal Preserve  (NP): Development zones for light protection, with a focus on ecology (recently developed; Starlight Natural Sites as defined by UNESCO )

Active measures to promote the reduction of light pollution in the public and the surrounding communities are required for both designations. The exact criteria now follow international standards, and have also been adopted by Parks Canada , the national park administration, as best practice for all federal protected areas.

List of Dark Sky Preserves

  • Location ... geographic coordinates of the area center
  • Fl. ... area in hectares
  • s. ... reported since
  • a. ... recognizing institution; (L) ... local initiative
  • DSAG classes : 1… Starlight Reserve (around observatories); 2a… Dark Sky Park (ecological protection); 4a or 4b… Dark Sky Outreach Site, urban / suburban resp. rural (public places); in brackets: not mentioned
  • RASC category: DSP… Dark-Sky Preserve ; USP… Urban Star Park ;
  • Notes: protection under nature conservation law and notes (sorted according to international protection and IUCN category )
designation
 Prov./Terr. location Fl. s. a. Remarks
Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve Alberta Erioll world.svg 29,300 0 2006 RASC 2a DSP in the vicinity of NP  Elk Island and PRA  Blackfoot
Bluewater Outdoor Education Center Dark Sky Preserve Ontario Erioll world.svg 130 0 2012 RASC 4b DSP around the Bluewater Outdoor Education Center
Bruce Peninsula Dark Sky Preserve Ontario Erioll world.svg 16,700 0 2009 RASC 2a DSP NP  Bruce Peninsula , MNP  Fathom Five
Cattle Point Urban Star Park British Columbia Erioll world.svg 6.8 2013 RASC 4a USP RASC Astropark in Uplands Park , Oak Bay, City of Victoria
Cypress Hills Dark Sky Preserve Alberta  / Saskatchewan Erioll world.svg 39,600 0 2005 RASC 2a DSP PP  Cypress Hills , NHS  Fort Walsh
Foothills No. 31 Alberta Erioll world.svg 364.290 0 2009 (L) (1) - Contracted nature conservation of the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory  (Univ. Of Calgary) and Wilson Coulee Observatory  (RASC)
Fundy Dark Sky Preserve New Brunswick Erioll world.svg 20,600 0 2011 RASC 2a DSP also NP / BR  Fundy
Gordon's Park Dark Sky Preserve Ontario Erioll world.svg 108 0 2008 RASC 4b DSP private astropark of Gordon's Park Eco Resort , Mantioulin Island
Grasslands Dark Sky Preserve Saskatchewan Erioll world.svg 52,700 0 2009 RASC 2a DSP in the vicinity of the NP  Grasslands
Irving Urban Star Park New Brunswick Erioll world.svg 243 0 2011 RASC 4a USP private NP  Irving , in Saint John , Bay of Fundy
Jasper Dark Sky Preserve Alberta Erioll world.svg 1,122,800 0 2011 RASC 2a DSP WHS / NP  Jasper with surroundings
Kejimkujik Dark Sky Preserve Nova Scotia Erioll world.svg 40,370 0 2010 RASC 2a DSP also NP  Kejimkujik
Kouchibouguac Dark Sky Preserve New Brunswick Erioll world.svg 23,920 0 2009 RASC 2a DSP also NP  Kouchibouguac
McDonald Park Dark Sky Preserve British Columbia Erioll world.svg 2,225 0 2003 RASC 4a DSP Fraser Valley Astronomers Society  (FVAS) Astropark in McDonald Park , Abbotsford
Mont-Mégantic International Dark Sky Reserve Quebec Erioll world.svg 5,845 0 2007 IDA 1  DSP for the Observatoire du Mont Mégantic , IDA-IDSP Silver 2009; contains PP / PN / IBA  Mont-Mégantic with NR  Samuel-Brisson
Mount Carleton Dark Sky Preserve New Brunswick Erioll world.svg 17,427 0 2009 RASC 2a DSP also PP  Mount Carleton
North Frontenac Township Ontario Erioll world.svg –OA– 2013 RASC 6th  DSP first dark sky community in Canada
Point Pelee Dark Sky Preserve Ontario Erioll world.svg 2,000 0 2006 RASC 2a DSP NP  Point Pelee and surroundings
Torrance Barrens Dark Sky Reserve Ontario Erioll world.svg 1,990 0 1999 RASC 2a DSP also CR  Torrance Barrens , the world's first express reserve
Wood Buffalo Dark Sky Reserve Alberta  / Northwest Territories Erioll world.svg 4,400,000 0 2013 RASC 2a DSP also WHS / NP  Wood Buffalo
20th total approx. 6,140,000 0 (2013) ... 0.6% of the area of ​​Canada
Sources and status: IUCN-DSAG , Aug. 2013; RASC-LPAC , Oct. 2013

swell

  1. ↑ a b Dark-Sky Site Guidelines . RASC Dark-Sky Program.
  2. ↑ a b c Dark-Sky Site Designations . Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: rasc.ca - RASC Programs - Light-Pollution Abatement (with card).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f World List of Dark Sky Protected Areas . International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources - Dark Skies Advisory Group, updated 29th August 2013 (pdf, darkskyparks.org; 45 kB).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ for example the extensive Meteorite Observation & Recovery Project (MORP), since 1971; compare Hermann Mucke: A fully automatic meteor camera station for Austria . In: Astronomical Office Vienna: Sternenbote 9/2008
  2. ^ Light-Pollution Abatement , Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - RASC Programs
  3. ↑ Dark-sky Preserve Program (DSP) , Canadian Scotobiology Group, csbg approx
  4. ^ Robert Dick, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: Nocturnal Preserve Guidelines (RASC-NP). Adopted by the RASC Summer 2013.
  5. ↑ In the original: “ A Dark-Sky Preserve is an area in which no artificial lighting is visible and active measures are in place to educate and promote the reduction of light pollution to the public and nearby municipalities. Sky glow from beyond the borders of the preserve will be of comparable intensity, or less, to that of natural sky glow.
    An Urban Star Park is an area in which artificial lighting is strictly controlled and active measures are in place to educate and promote the reduction of light pollution to the public and nearby municipalities. Sky glow from beyond the borders of the reserve may be visible to observers within the area.     ”
    (Translation Wikipedia).
  6. ↑ for example: Elk Island National Park of Canada Beaver Hills Dark Sky Preserve: Leads you into the Dark! - What are Dark Sky Preserves? , Parks Canada
  7. ↑ The DSAG usually gives the area of ​​the underlying nature conservation area, so the area information from the RASC may differ; see DSP world list , Notes p. 1
  8. ↑ The IUCN generally only lists areas on the basis of area designations relevant to environmental protection
  9. ^ Bluewater Outdoor Education Center , website of the Bluewater District School Board; Bluewater Education Foundation
  10. ^ Cattle Point Urban Star Park
  11. ↑ Dark Sky Initiative ; MD of Foothills No. 31 Dark Sky Bylaw 27/2009 (as amended 2011, pdf); Dark Sky Bylaw now in effect !. In: MD of Foothills No. 31 News , Issue 17, Spring 2009 ( pdf ; all mdfoothills.com)
  12. ↑ Gordon's Park ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Website; Gordon's Park Dark-Sky Preserve , rasc.ca @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / gordonspark.com
  13. ↑ Irving Nature Park , jdirving.com
  14. ↑ FVAS Dark Sky Park , fvas.net; Abbotsford , entry on observingsites.com
  15. ↑ the area around Lennox-Addigton is known for its arctic-dark sky, particularly in the south; Four Seasons. More Reasons , Township of North Frontenac brochure, p. 9 ( eReader , issuu.com);
    the Dark Sky Preserve in particular is located at Plevna / Tomvale Airport; Things to See and Do in North Frontenac: Dark Sky Preserve , northfrontenac.com; see also Plevna / (Tomvale) - NA9 , tomvale.com; Plevna / Tomvale Airport , engl. Wikipedia
  16. ↑ Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve , rasc.ca