SOURCE MATERIAL: Bright Spot in the County
Previously unpublished - Written in March 2023 Attachment to email to City
By Denise Rivette
“All in all, I'm disappointed that your article focused so much on the weeds that it failed to look above them, robbing readers of both context and relevance.” Red Lodge Resident
The above was received in reference to the March 22 article, Planning an Observatory in Van Dyke Park, which focused on the process of the development of an observatory on City property. The following is an effort to provide both context and relevance of an observatory in Red Lodge by addressing specific issues (in quotation marks) the reader felt were overlooked in the previous article.
“The wider context of Astro-tourism within the State of Montana and the potential value to tourism-based economies like ours”
Tourism partners throughout Montana have been working for years to develop and promote areas with the State’s darkest skies for destination stargazing, or what has become known fashionably as “astro-tourism”. These areas are to the east, south and north of Red Lodge. According to their website (trailtothestars.com), “Montana’s Trail to the Stars is a joint project through the Eastern Montana Initiative, made possible thanks to the collaboration of Central Montana Tourism, Missouri River Country, Visit Southeast Montana and the Montana Office of Tourism and Business Development (MOTBD). Each partner brings their unique perspective and expertise to the table, making the trail a valuable resource for visitors and locals throughout Montana.” In addition, MOTBD sponsors the tourism district that includes Carbon County: Yellowstone Country. Yellowstone Country has identified three stargazing sites in its territory: Yellowstone National Park (which is on its way to becoming America’s first national park to be granted a “Dark Sky Park” designation by the International Dark-Sky Association), Hyalite Canyon (just outside of Bozeman) and Beartooth Pass Overlook (about 20 miles south of Red Lodge).
“The rich natural resource the relatively light-pollution-free night sky above Red Lodge represents”
As those who live, work and recreate in the areas surrounding Red Lodge can attest, the night skies have been increasingly diminished over the past decades by the growing glow dome above Red Lodge. Relatively speaking, Red Lodge is the brightest spot in Carbon County when it is not darkened by cloud cover (see photo). Away from the city, there are several private observatories in Carbon County.
“The fact that Parks and preserving natural resources go hand in hand”
Van Dyke Park was established specifically for “open space and trails”. Permeable land for aquifer recharge is a natural resource as are viewsheds and habitat. Discussions regarding balancing the project with other competing natural resources and uses were not mentioned in City meeting minutes outlining deliberations on the observatory.