ADAIR COUNTY, Mo. – The stars hanging over one Missouri park will shine brighter after the park was officially certified as a “Dark Sky” community. The park is the first in Missouri to qualify for the certification.
The Thousand Hills State Park in Kirksville, Missouri, was certified this week as an Urban Night Sky Place, which validates the park’s efforts in protecting the night sky above from surrounding city lights.
“We work to keep the light pollution in and around our parks to a minimum to help protect the beauty of the night,” said David Kelly, director of Missouri State Parks, in a news release. “We view this park as a beautiful area, near a large city, where our guests can enjoy the darkness and beautiful night skies that our ancestors enjoyed.”
In order to qualify as a “Dark Sky” place, the park needed to develop a light management plan for its outdoor light fixtures to fight against light pollution.
Thousand Hills State Park joins over 220 parks across 22 countries in obtaining the certification.