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| Westcliffe, Colorado
IDA Dark Sky Community
© Lars Leber |
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IDA Colorado NewsletterInternational Dark-sky Association
March 2020 |
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| | | Events in the coming month
March 12 Black Canyon AS public meeting, blackcanyonastronomy.com
March 12 Northern Colo. AS public meeting, nocoastro.org
March 13 Northern Colo. AS telescope stargazing, nocoastro.org
March 17 Northern Colo. AS telescope stargazing, nocoastro.org
March 20 Florissant Fossil Beds Nat. Mon., indoor event plus telescope stargazing, nps.gov/flfo/ March 20 Little Thompson Obs., Berthoud, indoor event, telescope stargazing, starkids.org
March 21 Black Canyon NP, telescope stargazing, blackcanyonastronomy.com
March 24 Colorado Springs AS public meeting, csastro.org
March 26 Northern Colo. AS, telescope stargazing, nocoastro.org
March 27 Northern Colo. AS, telescope stargazing, nocoastro.org
March 27 Colorado Springs AS, telescope stargazing, csastro.org
March 28 Longmont AS and Boulder Co. Parks,telescope stargazing, longmontastro.org
March 28 Denver AS monthly Open House, twitter.com/Chamberlin_Obs
April 02 Northern Colo. AS public meeting, nocoastro.org
April 04 U. of Colo. Boulder, Astronomy Day indoor events, colorado.edu/fiske
April 04 Denver AS monthly Open House, twitter.com/Chamberlin_Obs
April 06 Colorado Springs AS, telescope stargazing, csastro.org
April 09 Black Canyon AS public meeting, blackcanyonastronomy.com
April 10 Northern Colo. AS, telescope stargazing, nocoastro.org
April 14 Northern Colo. AS, telescope stargazing, nocoastro.org
AC = Astronomy Club
AS = Astronomical Society
Nat. Mon. = National Monument
NP = National Park
Obs = Observatory
Weekly recurring events
Tuesday and Thursday, Denver AS, stargazing at Chamberlin, twitter.com/Chamberlin_Obs
Fridays during classes, U. of Colorado Boulder, telescope stargazing,colorado.edu/sbo
Plan ahead for these stellar events June 17-21 Rocky Mountain Star Stare, Gardner, rmss.org June 19-21 Sangre Star Festival, Westcliffe,darkskiescolorado.org/sangre-star-festival September 16-19 Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Astro-Fest,blackcanyonastronomy.com |
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IDA Colorado 2nd Quarter Meeting |
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Join us at the Sangre Star Festival in Westcliffe (6/19-6/21), for an IDA Colorado meeting Sunday, 6/21 at 1:00 pm.
1. Get festival tickets and accommodations. Accommodations are limited, so act now.
www.darkskiescolorado.org/sangre-star-festival |
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2. RSVP for the IDA Colorado meeting. |
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IDA Colorado 3rd and 4th Quarter Meetings |
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9/19/2020, Montrose - with events at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (an IDA Dark Sky Park; annual Astro Fest 9/16-9/19)
10/17/2020, 7:30 pm, Berthoud, Little Thompson Observatory. The meeting will be followed by stargazing at the Observatory's two outstanding telescopes.
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International Dark Sky Week April 19-26, 2020 |
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Do you know about any plans for International Dark Sky Week? Please send information to a Regional Coordinator. |
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| Chatter From the Chair
by Ryan Parker
Hello fellow stargazers and night sky guardians. As your IDA Colorado Chapter Chairman I am honored to be surrounded by so many incredible people committed to preserving Colorado's natural night and landscapes.
In an ongoing effort to recognize unsung heroes for the cause, I started a new quarterly recognition award for outstanding members who make a difference. This award is called the "Sirius Star Award" and it is created to showcase members who make a difference as an advocate towards Dark Skies (Get it? - the brightest star award?! :)
This 1st Quarter award goes to long time IDA member and Colorado Advocate - Richard O'Brien who is relentless in his pursuit of perfection in making sure our chapter protocols and communications are followed accurately. He also initiated the Regional Coordinator positions and territories for our Colorado Chapter all the while making sure our member newsletter happens like clockwork. Next time you see or talk to Richard, tell him thanks for doing a great job!
I know there are many more of you whom are deserving of such an award and rest assured your time will come soon, the best part is you get to nominate and vote in the next quarter Sirius Star Award recipient.
Until then, I will leave you with some words of wisdom as we pursue greater exposure of the IDA mission "to preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies through environmentally responsible outdoor lighting"... Stay positive even when that neighbor or business makes you feel less than friendly. Make an effort to talk to people about light pollution and what is important to them. We all have a story, let's remember to listen to others and share ours - that's where relationships begin. 90% of the people you share the message with will be curious and willing to hear you. 10% will always be negative and ugly no matter what you say or how you say it. Keep it classy and know that you, like Mr. Rogers, are trying to make the world a better place by being a Good Neighbor - and that, my friend, makes you awesome!
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| Richard O'Brien and Ryan Parker at the IDA Colorado meeting 3-1-2020 |
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March IDA Colorado meeting recap |
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March 1, 2020, Wings Over the Rockies museum, Denver We had a wonderful array of food, courtesy of Dr. Robert Stencel. Our host Ryan Parker and the Wings Over the Rockies museum did an outstanding job making the gathering a success. We heard presentations from Audrey Spencer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Amy Brandenburg, of Jackson Lake State Park, about dark sky activities at state parks throughout the state and Jackson Lake in particular. The Board approved the remaining quarterly meeting date/locations for 2020: - June 21, Westcliffe
- September 19, Montrose
- October 17, Berthoud
We discussed forming several committees to work on specific issues: - Fundraising
- IDA Advocate Blueprint
- Dark Sky Places
- Public Policy
- Business Outreach
The consensus of the group was to work toward further defining these five working areas before proceeding. |
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Volunteer Opportunity
Proposed
Sangre de Cristo Dark Sky Reserve |
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A large portion of south-central Colorado on both sides of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains may become the State's first Dark Sky Reserve. The proposal includes a number of counties, a number of cities, four federal government agencies, and a number of private properties. The central core of the Dark Sky Reserve would be the already-recognized Dark Sky Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park. A committee of stakeholders has been meeting monthly at the Baca Wildlife Refuge in Crestone. Volunteers are working to compile the information needed for the application, including Sky Quality Measurements, light fixture inventories, and lighting management plans.
If you are interesting in helping, contact an IDA Colorado Regional Coordinator (the proposed Reserve would be in the IDA Colorado Western Region and the IDA Colorado Southeastern Region). |
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Western Colorado Region Coordinators Aaron Watson, Paonia, aarone...@gmail.com Creighton “Woody” Wood, Norwood, norw...@gmail.com Southeastern Colorado Region Coordinators Clint Smith, Westcliffe, clintsm...@live.com Scott Donnell, Colorado Springs, trea...@csastro.org Central-Denver Region Coordinator Ryan Parker, Castle Pines, ryan....@darksky.org Northeastern Colorado Region Coordinators Janae Malpas, Livermore, ja...@thejuniperinitiative.com
Richard OBrien, Boulder, richard...@darksky.org |
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The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, an IDA Dark Sky Park (© Bettymaya Foott) |
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Order from Jim Morris Environmental T-shirt Company, JimMorris.com. The Jim Morris Company gives sponsorship support to IDA Colorado. While at the Jim Morris Company site, check out their other beautiful designs. |
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Invite Someone to Become a Member |
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Benefits of Membership in the IDA Automatically become a member of the Colorado Chapter
Receive the emailed Colorado Chapter newsletters
Join a network of like-minded dark-sky advocates
Connect with others in your region
Attend special events: - advocate meetings and trips
- star parties
- special presentations
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