The short version
What's being proposed
Stage one is certification under the Nevada Starry Skies Certification Program, run by the Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation with Travel Nevada. It was created by Senate Bill 52 in 2021 and launched in October 2024. It explicitly welcomes unincorporated communities like ours, it is free to apply, and decisions come within 90 days of a complete application.
Stage two is certification as an International Dark Sky Community through DarkSky International, the world's leading authority on light pollution. That program has certified more than 270 places worldwide since 2001. It typically takes one to three years and rests on community education, a public lighting inventory, and a dark-sky-friendly outdoor lighting ordinance adopted with Nye County.
The state certification builds the plan, the partnerships and the momentum the international application needs. Each stage strengthens the next.
Certification would not darken our skies
It protects what we already have. The requirement is fully shielded, warm-toned outdoor lighting that points down instead of sideways and up — better light where you need it, less of it thrown away.
Amargosa Valley starts with a natural advantage: the sky here is already exceptional.
Why it matters
Three reasons this is worth doing
For our residents
Fully shielded, warm-toned lighting cuts glare and light trespass, improves nighttime visibility and safety, lowers energy costs for the town and the county, and protects human health by preserving natural sleep cycles. Outdoor lighting in the United States burns roughly 380 terawatt-hours a year — much of it wasted straight up into the sky.
For our ecosystem
Nocturnal wildlife depends on natural darkness to navigate, feed and reproduce. Our valley borders Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge — home to endemic and endangered species found nowhere else on Earth — and Death Valley National Park. Dark-sky lighting is one of the simplest, lowest-cost conservation measures a community can adopt.
For our economy
Astrotourism is among the fastest-growing segments of rural tourism in the Southwest. Death Valley National Park, at our doorstep, has been a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park since 2013 and draws visitors from around the world. A certified Dark Sky Community at the park's gateway positions Amargosa Valley to capture overnight stays, stargazing events and year-round visitor traffic that currently passes us by.
The whole idea in one picture
Point the light down
What we want less of
A bare bulb throws light sideways into your neighbor's window and straight up into the sky. It creates glare that actually makes it harder to see, and every lumen aimed upward is money spent lighting the bottom of a cloud.
What we want more of
A hooded fixture puts the same light on the ground where you need it, at a warm color temperature of 3000K or below. Nothing escapes sideways or upward. The path is better lit, the bill is smaller, and the sky stays dark.
The roadmap
Four phases
Foundation
- Form a Dark Sky Committee — residents, local businesses, the school, Death Valley Observatories, and partners such as Ash Meadows NWR and Death Valley National Park. Long-term representation matters more than size.
- Board resolution of support — a simple resolution from the Town Advisory Board endorsing the initiative, plus a Dark Sky Week proclamation to build visibility.
- Download the Nevada Dark Skies Toolkit — the free state guide that frames expectations for management plans, lighting and outreach.
- Baseline sky quality survey — scientific measurements with a Sky Quality Meter across the community. Equipment and expertise are available locally at no cost to the town.
Stage one — Nevada Starry Skies certification
- Contact the state program officer to talk through the process. The program explicitly serves unincorporated communities and is actively seeking pilot partners.
- Draft the lighting management plan using the state toolkit as the template, with implementation benchmarks and timelines.
- Prepare education materials — proposed outreach events and resources. Existing local astronomy programming already exceeds what is expected.
- Submit the free application — management plan, education materials, timelines and lighting specifications. Decisions come within 90 days of a complete application.
- Celebrate the designation — press, signage and Travel Nevada astrotourism promotion, building the momentum stage two needs.
Stage two — International Dark Sky Community
- Contact DarkSky International for an eligibility review. Program staff respond in about 30 days, then the application fee begins formal work.
- Public lighting inventory — a formal audit of outdoor fixtures by type, wattage, color temperature and shielding, maintained as a living database.
- Adopt the county outdoor lighting ordinance — working with Nye County, which already has directly relevant experience through Pahrump's dark sky ordinance efforts. Public lighting must comply within five years of certification; private fixtures have a ten-year amortization period. Historically this is the most time-consuming step, so early county engagement is essential.
- Begin lighting retrofits — prioritize county- and town-owned fixtures as they come due for replacement, converting to fully shielded, warm lighting at 3000K or below. Grant funding is worth pursuing: Boulder City's $1.9 million federal award shows the support exists.
- Submit the formal application — sky quality data, lighting inventory, adopted ordinance, and documentation of at least two public dark sky education events per year.
Stewardship
- Annual reporting — brief yearly reports on lighting conditions and outreach activities maintain accreditation.
- Promote astrotourism — joint marketing with Death Valley National Park, Travel Nevada and Nye County tourism; gateway signage and visitor programming.
- Continue public star parties — sustained education for residents and visitors keeps the certification, and the community's investment in it, alive.
Side by side
The two certifications
Nevada Starry Skies
- Certifying body
- Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation with Travel Nevada, under SB 52 (2021). Launched October 2024.
- Who can apply
- Unincorporated communities, schools, tribal governments, parks, HOAs, businesses and chambers of commerce.
- Cost
- Free to apply. The awardee funds its own plan implementation.
- Timeline
- A decision within 90 days of a complete application.
- What it takes
- Management plan or policy, education materials, implementation benchmarks, lighting specifications.
- Compliance
- Benchmarks and timelines defined in the applicant's own plan.
International Dark Sky Community
- Certifying body
- DarkSky International, through the International Dark Sky Places program — more than 270 certified places worldwide since 2001.
- Who can apply
- Cities and towns with quality outdoor lighting ordinances and public dark sky education.
- Cost
- A non-refundable application fee, plus ordinance and retrofit costs over time.
- Timeline
- Typically one to three years from initial inquiry to certification.
- What it takes
- County lighting ordinance, public lighting inventory, sky quality survey, at least two education events a year, annual reports.
- Compliance
- Public lighting within five years of certification. Private fixtures get a ten-year amortization after the ordinance is adopted.
We would not be alone
Nevada is already moving
Pahrump, in our own county, is implementing a dark sky ordinance and working toward DarkSky International designation. Boulder City secured a $1.9 million U.S. EDA grant in 2023 to retrofit its entire municipal lighting system. Amargosa Valley would join, and stand out within, a statewide movement.
The sky over Amargosa Valley is already exceptional
Certification would not change it. It would protect it, and let the rest of the world know it is here.