This week is International Dark Sky Week and Central Oregon is once again joining in the celebration. For the second year in a row, Bend and Deschutes County have each made a proclamation that skies free of light pollution are important.

For DarkSky Oregon board member and treasurer, Cathie Flanigan, getting the support of Bend’s city council is one step closer to helping Bend become a “Dark Sky community.” The City of Sisters became a certified Dark Sky community in January, bringing the number of official Dark Sky places in Oregon to seven.

A proclamation of support is different from actually becoming a certified Dark Sky community. That involves changing lighting fixtures or bulbs, using timers for certain lighting effects and measuring ambient light.

The process can take about five years, according to Flanigan. A Bend city councilor has lately become a champion of the cause, but it’s not without controversy. One county commissioner has said the effort disregards the needs of rural residents, especially when it comes to safety. But Flanigan said that educating people on how to “light the night wisely” is important.

DarkSky International is active in more than 70 countries with thousands of volunteers and supporters, according to its website. Their message is simple — to preserve the wonders of the night sky by reducing light pollution.

Flanigan said the organization promotes five basic principles of responsible lighting: useful, targeted, low level, controlled and warm colored.

When Flanigan and her husband moved to Bend in 2017, she said the lights on U.S. Highway 97 were very bright and visible from their house.

“We said, ‘let’s do something about that.’ And so we contacted International Dark Skies,” she said.

That’s more or less the origin story of DarkSky Oregon, as well. The DarkSky Oregon chapter grew and in 2023, became a standalone nonprofit.

Now, the organization is lobbying to update Bend’s lighting ordinance. A few items Flanigan listed as priorities were string lights, LEDs and light color technology. Chris Hill, another Dark Sky Oregon volunteer, said they’re hoping to include “light pollution” as a priority for the council.

Hill met with Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler in early 2025 to address what he called “sky glow” beyond the city limits.

The quick clip of Bend’s population growth has strained affordable housing and infrastructure for water and waste, while also fueling perceptions of roadway congestion and light pollution.

The impacts of the city’s growth ripple into surrounding communities, said Tim Merrill with the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory, located 16 miles south of Bend. He said Bend’s ambient light pollution spills over Sunriver.

“We call it the Bend-orealis,” he said.

The observatory claims to be one of the largest in the nation, meaning they have the most telescopes available for public use. The largest is a 30-inch telescope, which allows people to see “galaxies far, far away,” Merrill said.

The Sunriver observatory relies on dark skies, he said, and, if light pollution were to increase, it would make it harder to give people a place to explore space.

Over the past 12 years, he said he’s noticed some stars in the night sky have become harder to see. Objects in deeper space that were once viewable are now often occluded by light pollution from cities and towns.

Bend City Councilor Steve Platt has been joining forces with Dark Sky Oregon advocates for the past few months. Platt has been working to add Dark Sky certification to the city’s environmental goals, which councilors plan to adopt in June.

“I do hope that we can help our lovely city join many of the other communities in Oregon who have already shifted in this direction,” Platt said by email.

But not everyone supports the DarkSky movement. Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair said at a recent public meeting that she’s “not about dark skies” when it comes to her home.

Adair lives between Sisters and Redmond. A self-described “country girl,” she said in an interview that people who live in rural areas need to be able to pay attention to their surroundings, especially at night, because of predators.

She shared concerns about the safety of her pet fish and animals. She recounted how river otters killed a giant koi fish named “Beav”, short for Beaver, that she kept in her large pond.

“I just know in my situation, and out where we live in the county, I think people have to be very aware of what else is out there,” Adair said.

Flanigan said safety concerns are often a key point of resistance to DarkSky efforts. She said a common perception is that more lighting is safer, but she said, “actually, good lighting is safer.”

She pointed out lighting that cuts glare and uses warm colored bulbs, and added that motion sensor lights are a good option for people with security concerns.

Merrill said the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory will be teaming up with DarkSky Oregon to host a “star party” on the summer solstice, June 20, in La Pine State Park. There will be telescopes and people will be on hand to share information about preserving the night sky.

For Merrill, he said some people remark that looking into space makes them feel small.

“I think it just makes my problems feel small,” he said.