Support for management actions to protect night sky quality: Insights from visitors to state and national park units in the U.S.

Light pollution is a global phenomenon where anthropogenic light sources continue to grow unabated, affecting both social and ecological systems. This is leaving parks and protected areas as some of the last vestiges of naturally dark environments for protecting views of the night sky. Yet, even parks and protected areas have outdoor lighting. Alternative lighting practices are needed to reduce or prevent light pollution from within parks. However, making parks darker may not be desirable for some visitors if they believe it will reduce navigability, safety, or restrict how they recreate (e.g., requiring the use of red-light flashlights after dark and before dawn). How visitors will respond to alternative lighting practices that park managers can implement is still unknown. We used an on-site intercept survey at nine state and national park units in Utah, U.S., to investigate nighttime visitors' support or opposition to management actions to protect night sky quality and their interest in learning about topics related to night skies. Further, this study also segmented visitors into two groups: those 'dependent' on the dark sky as a resource and those whose activities did not depend on a dark sky. Defining what a 'dark sky dependent' visitor is, which has yet to be done in the literature, is a fundamental step to furthering night sky research and management efforts. Across nine parks and protected areas, 62% of nighttime visitors participated in dark sky dependent activities. Findings indicate broad support for management actions designed to improve night sky quality, with between 74% and 89% of all visitors supporting seven different management actions. There was stronger support from dark sky dependent visitors for some elements of alternative lighting practices, but there was still strong support for those who do not participate in dark sky dependent outdoor recreation. Additionally, between 57% and 75% of visitors were interested in learning more about topics related to night skies. This research indicates most visitors would welcome actions to preserve the quality of the rapidly dwindling naturally dark experiences offered by parks and protected areas.

The social-ecological system of the Kenai River Fishery (Alaska, USA).

We present a collaboratively developed social-ecological model of the Kenai River Fishery. We developed the model through iterative interviews with stakeholders throughout the Kenai Peninsula using a novel participatory Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping process grounded in Ostrom's social-ecological systems framework. Individual social-ecological models, developed one-on-one with stakeholders, were combined into a single aggregated model representing the system's structure and function. We validated this aggregated model through subsequent interviews with stakeholders and focused literature reviews. The result is a model that can: 1) illustrate the breadth and interconnectedness of the Kenai River Fishery's social-ecological system; 2) be used to facilitate discussions around management of the fishery; and 3) be used to explore the components and interactions that move the system toward or away from sustainability. Using the model, we identify how the nature of salmon (migratory) and their habitat (large and unpredictable) leads to uncertainty about effective management strategies. This uncertainty, in addition to a large and diverse set of resource users, creates conflicting management goals that ultimately limit the governance system in making decisions that might increase the sustainability of the fishery.