National Park Service advances plans to relocate Chequamegon Point Light Tower
(Apostle Islands National Lakeshore News Release) BAYFIELD, Wis. — Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has awarded a...
How smart lighting choices can protect our precious night sky, save energy and money – a Dark Sky Star Bright Festival event
January 20, 2026
The Dark Sky Star Bright Festival celebrates our precious night sky, and as the crowd gathered at the Honest Dog Books event space on Tuesday learned, it’s more than that. Friends of the Apostle Islands Executive Director Jeff Rennicke put it this way. “We also wanted to make sure that when people got inspired and learned about the sky, they could take that next step. And the next step is okay, what can I do about it? In my home. In my business. In my community. How do I help, one lightbulb at a time?”
To answer that question, outdoor lighting expert, Electrical Engineer and Dark Sky advocate Scott Lind took a deep dive into the rapidly-evolving field of outdoor lighting science, technology and design. Lind said, “We know that education is important. We know that inspiration is important. But how do you turn that into changes, is what we’re really all about.”
Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Executive Director Jeff Rennicke and Electrical Engineer Scott Lind – Jon Okerstrom photo
As President of the Kickapoo Valley Dark Sky Initiative in southern Wisconsin and as an Electrical Engineer he has helped local governments and businesses to make meaningful changes and better lighting choices. He says bad lighting choices waste energy and money and can reduce safety. They can also harm human health, as well as plants, insects, animals and birds by disrupting their normal nocturnal cycles. Lind says, “As we disrupt with artificial light, it has huge impact on all of these other species. You can buy blackout shades for your house. If you’re any other species, you don’t have that option.” Those choices can also accelerate light pollution which robs us of our precious views of the night sky.
Dark sky advocate Scott Lind discusses advances in outdoor lighting designed to protect the night sky – Jon Okerstrom photo
Lind says he focuses on municipal and commercial lighting because “if I can pursuade one public works director that I know what I’m talking about and we can make this pay for you, that will affect all of the streetlights in that community.” That said, Lind said outdoor residential lighting is a huge contributor to light pollution. “If you’re able to go person to person to say “turn your lights off at night or dim them down” that’s where you would have the biggest impact in terms of overall light pollution.”
About the Apostle Islands, Lind said the National Park Service has done research on the impact of distant light pollution and determined that outdoor lighting within a 125 mile radius of a park impacts the night sky there. Lind said, “It’s a big distance. It’s a widespread area that you have to cover. That’s why my focus… is to get these things adopted more broadly.”
Audience members interested in finding action items of their own asked about potential improvements to Bayfield street lights, marina lighting, communication tower lighting and more. Lind pointed to some positive things happening locally, like the recently upgraded outdoor lighting at the Bayfield public library. He said he’s also working with Mount Ashwabay to evalutate potential lighting improvements there. And he talked about potential grant opportunities to make lighting improvements more affordable.
Watch Scott’s presentation here. We hope the information helps you to understand what’s at stake and what you can do to help protect our night sky.
For more information about efforts across the state and how you can get involved, visit Dark Sky Wisconsin. Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has also launched the Starry Skies Initiative, which seeks to protect night sky resources in and around the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore through the identification and monitoring of light pollution, public outreach, increasing awareness, and a potential certification for the Apostle Islands as an International Dark Sky Park.
The first Dark Sky Star Bright Festival, organized by the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Apostle Islands and local businesses runs through January 25th, 2026. Check out the interactive event guide on our homepage. There’s lots more to do this week!
Additional topics related to this article | Community Outreach | Conservation | Environmental | Preservation
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