Introducing the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary

We are thrilled to share some very exciting news – the first phase of the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary in southeastern Oregon has been certified by DarkSky International!  At 2.5 million acres, the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary is the largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world. The newly-certified, star-studded Sanctuary in Lake County is within the largest intact area of world class dark skies in the lower 48 states and represents an area about one-half the size of New Jersey!

The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network that submitted the nomination represents a diverse team of state and local land managers, businesses, nonprofits and private individuals that worked tirelessly for the past four years to reach this outstanding milestone. But they’re not done yet–the Network aspires to expand the certified area eastward into Harney and Malheur Counties to encompass a full 11.4 million acres! 

The scale of this designation and the breadth of the partnership effort that went into it reflects the truly remarkable nighttime resource that we have here in Oregon, as well as the value of dark skies—for human and wildlife health, for the preservation of carefully choreographed ecosystem relationships, for our deep cultural history of looking skyward, and for the economic benefits to gateway cities in support of dark sky tourism.

DarkSky Oregon supports the OODS Network’s efforts by analyzing and providing night sky brightness measurement data and maps, which confirm the pristine nature of the Sanctuary’s night skies.

Learn more about this remarkable International Dark Sky Sanctuary and the efforts to protect Oregon’s night skies.

https://www.southernoregon.org/dark-skies/oregon-outback-dark-sky-sanctuary/#