LOOK UP

It’s obvious from space. Nighttime photos of Michigan shared by NASA show the state’s most densely populated and well-lit cities and regions. But the majority of the Upper Peninsula is in darkness.

Surrounded on three sides by the Great Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior, the

BY KATH USITALO

heavily forested U.P. is enveloped by deep, dark night skies. Its more than 15,000 square miles — about one-third of the state’s entire land area — are home to just 3% of Michigan’s population. The conditions are ideal for stargazing and the possibility of catching the aurora borealis.

In June 2022, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) certified Michigan’s third International Dark Sky Park and first in the U.P., at Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Copper Harbor. The Keweenaw Dark Sky Park is one of 195 IDA parks worldwide, and joins several Dark Sky Parks around the Great Lakes region, including: Headlands Dark Sky Park on Lake Michigan, west of Mackinaw City; Dr. T.K. Lawless Dark Sky Park in the southwest corner of Michigan; Geauga Observatory Park in Ohio along Lake Erie; and Newport State Park in Wisconsin’s Door County.

Stairway to the stars

Attaining Dark Sky Park status involves multiple steps and an application that includes meeting specific requirements, providing community support and a commitment to maintaining Dark-Sky standards. In the Keweenaw Peninsula, it started with John Mueller, who purchased the historic Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in 2018. The rustic main structure and two dozen cozy cabins are built of logs hewn on site as part of the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration programs. The project included a nine-hole golf course carved from the 167-acre wilderness.

Mueller respects the history and uniqueness of the remote property, which opened in 1934 and is recognized on national and state historic registers.

“We have some good bones,” he says of the physical structures and the setting. “The pillars of this historic wilderness resort are outdoor recreation, rustic worldly food and education. Education is how things grow and improve.”

One of Mueller’s early priorities was to conduct an energy audit. “Our goal was to learn,” he says of the study. It resulted in replacing 28 intrusive, light-polluting street lights with a Dark-Sky-compliant, energy-efficient

MICHIGAN’S DARK SKY PRESERVES

In addition to Michigan’s three International Dark Sky Parks, the Michigan legislature has designated six Dark Sky Preserves at state parks and recreation areas across the Lower Peninsula; four of them are along the Lake Huron shore. The six preserves include: Lake Hudson Recreation Area (Clayton, Lenawee County); Negwegon State Park (Harrisville, Alcona County); Port Crescent State Park (Port Austin, Huron County); Rockport Recreation Area (Rogers City, Presque Isle County); Thompson’s Harbor State Park (Rogers City, Presque Isle County) and Wilderness State Park (Carp Lake, Emmet County).

Although without official Dark Sky designations, Michigan also has three national parks that offer spectacular celestial viewing: Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan in the northwest area of the Lower Peninsula, and on Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park.

For more information, visit MICHIGAN.GOV/DNR and NPS.GOV.

LED alternative. The process led to his application to the International Dark-Sky Association.

“We wanted better lighting,” Mueller says. “To be able to have the Dark-Sky certification is a bonus.”

Fun, joyous and adventuresome

The lodge property now measures 560 acres, and is surrounded on three sides by 31,000 wilderness acres recently acquired by The Nature Conservancy, which will protect and keep the sprawling tract open for recreational use by the public. That is an additional draw to the region and a boon to Keweenaw Mountain Lodge, which strives to provide a “fun, joyous and adventuresome wilderness experience.”

“Our mission is helping people get closer to nature and the natural environment,” Mueller says.

The lodge and Dark Sky Park are open year-round, and offer a loan of a telescope, maps for best viewing locations, and activities such as night sky photography workshops, stargazing parties and moonlit snowshoe hikes. One informational session focused on dark sky light management at the property, and included suggestions that individuals can implement to reduce their own “light trespassing.”

Education is a cornerstone of IDA’s efforts. Its website informs about the effects of artificial light on wildlife, the environment and human health, and the benefits of minimizing light pollution. “Night Sky Heritage” points out the importance over the centuries of constellations, planets and the moon to religion and philosophy, mariners, artists and writers.

“For millennia, stars have guided us, given us hope, and connected us as beings on one planet in one spinning galaxy, riding through time and space, light and dark, together,” says IDA Director of Engagement Bettymaya Foott. “If we lose the night sky, we lose a deep part of what it means to be human on Earth. By reaching out together, to shield or dim lights, or simply to flip off the switch, we practice using our power to do big, ambitious things on behalf of ourselves and future generations.” H

Resources

H International Dark-Sky Association

DARKSKY.ORG

H Keweenaw Dark Sky Park

KEWEENAWDARKSKY.COM

H Keweenaw Mountain Lodge

KEWEENAWMOUNTAINLODGE.COM