KSL Radio, Salt Lake City (13 October 2016)

More Utah parks make pitch for dark sky certification

Utah tourism ads use scenic views of slick rock and mountain lakes to lure visitors to the Beehive State from around the globe. Once here though, some are more amazed by what they see after the sun drops below the horizon.

On Wednesday, a representative from the International Dark Sky Association paid a visit to five parks on the Wasatch Back. Dr. John Barentine wanted to see if Wasatch Mountain, Jordanelle, East Canyon, Rockport or Deer Creek State Park warrant inclusion on the organization's inventory of places with stellar nighttime views.
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Those parks all have to contend with glow from nearby cities, but Barentine said that doesn't necessarily disqualify them. "There's something very valuable about these urban-adjacent parks in that you have a large number of people in the Salt Lake City area who have ready access to all these state parks out here," Barentine said. "It's important that some of the dark sky parks be located within short distance of cities to maximize the number of people who can come and see what that's like."

Read the full story at ​https://www.ksl.com/?sid=41847211