[A] swath of Idaho has been declared to be a special region where the night sky will be preserved. ... There may be an economic benefit to the designation.

The International Dark Sky Association's John Barentine says the region will now be a choice place for a new breed of traveler, those who engage in “astrotourism”.

“We're seeing a lot of interest from people in East Asia, for example. And it would not surprise me if they end up with a lot of tourists from China, Japan and Korea who come to central Idaho from the attention the designation will bring them,” says Barentine.

The International Dark Sky Association designated first Dark Sky Reserve in the United States, and it's in Idaho.

John Barentine, the International Dark Sky Association Program Manager, joins The Takeaway to talk about conserving the night sky and why this particular designation in Idaho is significant.

John Barentine, a physical scientist and program manager for the IDA, said the concept of light pollution can be fairly subjective. For some people, skyglow or the brightening of the night sky that makes it difficult to see the stars, may be an acceptable consequence to being able to see at night, he said. For others, a single neighbor’s lights glowing from their property into the neighbor’s windows at night, called light trespass, is a major problem, Barentine said.

The IDA receives many requests opposing holiday lighting because it contributes to light pollution, but Barentine said the organization must take a pragmatic approach to solving the problem. “We are not trying to turn the world’s lights off,” he said. “We know that is not a practical solution to the problem.”