Lighting and Power Upgrade Recommendations for U.S. National Park Service Caribbean Units

Abstract

The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) maintains and operates numerous park units along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, extending into the Caribbean to Commonwealth territories like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Parks that dot the eastern shore of the United States are susceptible to damage from hurricane events. Several of these units were in the direct path of hurricanes Irma and Maria during the 2017 hurricane season and suffered considerable damage, including power outages, structural damage, and destroyed equipment.

City Light or Star Bright: A Review of Urban Light Pollution, Impacts, and Planning Implications

“…As sky glow increases, so do adverse impacts on wildlife (Commonwealth of Australia 2020). A single light source’s contribution to sky glow consists of uplight or light emitted at or above a horizontal plane, the luminaire’s output or the amount of light emitted, and its spectral content, with shorter wavelength scattering more readily in the earth’s atmosphere than longer wavelengths (Kinzey et al 2019, 8).…”

“…Unlike mercury or HPS lighting, LEDs also contain few toxic substances and can be tuned to reduce illumination levels during off-peak hours thereby offering additional energy savings and adaptability. Too, LED lamps dim slowly over many years facilitating phased replacement (Kinzey et al 2019). However, higher costs of LED technology lead to longer amortization times.…”

“…Thus, Shaw (2014) documents the complexities at the intersection of energy policy, social and ecological well-being, and technological innovation that planners increasingly confront and, as well, the effects of austerity politics on lighting decisions. 6 Less visible but nevertheless also important to the safety calculus are insurer concerns and fears of litigation (Meier 2018; Kinzey et al 2019).…”

“…LEDs may create special threats for wildlife because many species perceive light beyond the blue range and into the ultraviolet range (Cabrera-Cruz, Smolinsky, and Buler 2018; Kinzey et al 2019). For example, Schulte-Römer, Dannemann, and Meier (2018, 51) discuss a Chilean case in which approximately 20,000 Markham’s storm petrel fledglings died hitting lampposts, disoriented by the 6,600 K LED lamps that replaced older ones.…”

“…Visibility of celestial objects can be obstructed by sky glow from nearby towns as well as from such localized sources of light as a parking lot. Any human-based light at night, even if at a distant horizon, runs counter to designations of both, “Wilderness” and “wilderness” 9 (Kinzey et al 2019, 7). In 1999, the National Park Service created the Night Sky Team to monitor LP in national parks and advise park staff on LP prevention and mitigation, with further refinements in subsequent years (Manning et al 2018).…”