Keep it Wild – BWCAW Dark Sky Sanctuary and Protecting the Night Sky

Ann Schwaller with Chris Stromberg from Quetico Provincial Park on a dark skies monitoring trip into the BWCAW. Courtesy of Ann Schwaller.

In this special, extended episode of “Keep it Wild,” Ann Schwaller, a designated areas specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, shares the history of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness as a certified, Dark Sky Sanctuary–a designation awarded by Dark Sky International in September, 2020. She explains her personal connection to the preservation of natural dark skies, and why the Dark Sky Sanctuary designation is considered “a fragile situation,” due to the encroachment of light pollution at the edge of the wilderness, as well as light domes from the urban areas of Thunder Bay, Grand Marais, Ely and even as far away as Duluth.
“Keep it Wild” is a regular feature of the WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast.
To learn more, visit darksky.org