Dark Skies at Goblin Valley State Park

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Goblin Valley State Park is working on an application to become an International Dark Sky Place. Jim Wells is the park naturalist at Goblin Valley and he explained to the Emery County Public Lands Council how this is done. They are filling out their application and looking for letters of support for this designation. They will be hosting education at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum where they will set up their telescope in the parking lot and invite the Green River community to come and view the night skies as Green River also has a dark sky along with Goblin Valley.
The beauty of a dark sky is one that is unmarred by manmade light sources and the night sky can shine through so the stars, planets and other features are not obstructed from view. The park personnel will educate visitors to the park as to what’s above the park in the night sky. Wells said as part of the designation they can begin to market Goblin Valley as having dark skies. Other parks in the area have recently been designated including Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, Dead Horse Point and one in Weber County-Weber North Fork.
All outdoor lighting must be pointing down so it won’t interfere with the night skies. A recent night at Goblin Valley had 60 participants looking at the night skies through the telescope the park has purchased for this purpose. Wells also leads full moon hikes at the park and half-moon hikes. In working with the museum in Green River they have a Little Goblin program and these young campers will come out to the park and camp and view the stars and the other features of the park.
Wells said in order to become part of the Dark Skies program they are to educate people and gather community support for the project. Dark Skies can be part of a marketing campaign to bring people to the area to view the night skies.
Those people in cities with a lot of artificial light cannot observe the night skies without obstruction. If Goblin Valley gains Dark Sky status it will be promoted on the International Dark Sky website and they advertise the dark locations in national newspapers to gain awareness of where you can go in the world to have these dark sky experiences. Goblin Valley can also partner with other Dark Skies in the area to promote the skies on a regional basis.
Wells said the program is relatively new only being around since 2007, but some research was done in Scotland and they have been promoting their Dark Skies. Since that time the business to the local motels has increased with each establishment seeing an $80,000 per year increase in revenue.
Council member Bruce Wilson wanted the park to make a note in their advertising that these Dark Skies exist in Emery County and we are also the home to five coal fired power plant units that don’t obstruct the night views.
The public lands council thought it was a great idea. They will send a letter of support to Goblin Valley and to the International Dark Skies Society.
Vice-Chairman Rod Player asked Wells if he knew Emery County is undergoing a branding effort for the county and the Green River side of the county is focusing on Goblin Valley and promotion of surrounding areas. Wells said he wasn’t aware of that and what they are doing at the park could tie into what the county is doing.
Public lands director Ray Petersen asked if there is any conflict with potential oil and gas leasing in the county. Wells said no he didn’t see any conflicts and areas such as Dead Horse Point which is designated has lights from oil and gas development, but they aren’t obstructive. Also, the North Fork Park is near Ogden and there are lights near there too.