July 2024 saw a landmark victory in the cause for Night Skies in Texas: Shield Ranch Barton Creek was officially recognized as the first Urban Night Sky Place in the State. Close to previously-recognized City of Dripping Springs, Travis County Milton Reimers Ranch Park, and the City of Bee Cave, Shield Ranch Barton Creek now serves to expand the region tasked with ensuring the night skies of old will remain available for future generations.
Shield Ranch Barton Creek: At the Forefront of Conservation
Sitting at the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country, and merely 20 miles from the bustle of Austin, Shield Ranch Barton Creek is one of the most captivating nationally designated historic districts in the region. The area comprises 6,400 acres of wildland, conservation-minded recreational areas, and strictly limited development, around a sizable chunk of the Barton Creek watershed.
From its inception, and under the leadership of the Shield-Ayres-Bowen family and its descendants, the Ranch embodies their commitment to conservation. The Ranch offers nature immersion experiences to pre-registered community groups and is not open to the general public. Non-profits, mission-aligned businesses, and educational organizations may make reservations. The sustainability built facilities are offered for Camp El Ranchito whose “mission is to connect children with the natural world by providing an extraordinarily fun and inspiring nature-immersion experience. It offers a unique camp experience that gives youth, who may not otherwise have access, opportunities to form strong bonds with nature and one another in community.”
Urban Landscape with a Pristine Sky
The designation of an Urban Night Sky Place where a property in an urban space meets the demands of protecting the night sky, brings up a common question we get when discussing light pollution. That is “Are all lights bad now?”
But nothing would be further from the truth. DarkSky International and the Illuminating Engineering Society have designed a straightforward system that helps each of us preserve the night sky as our cities continue to grow. Rather than turning the lights off, we simply want to redesign and rethink each light source.
Once each outdoor light is useful, shielded, keeps its intensity and color temperature within the necessary limits, and is only on when necessary, we can ensure light pollution is reduced and we can see better. These guidelines are embodied in the 5 Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lightning. At Shield Ranch, the Shield-Ayres-Bowen family and its tenants took these principles to heart.
In addition to smart engineering of the carefully built, sustainable structures on the property, Shield Ranch also takes an active role in educating its visitors. Their agenda welcomed the first Dusk to Dark Star Party in November 2022. They also included information on the effects of light pollution on wildlife, birds, and even human health within their regular programming.
Finally, the Ranch also joined in the ongoing efforts by DarkSky Texas and Hays County Friends of the Night Sky to gather and share data on the status of light pollution in the area. They now host a permanent Night Sky Quality Monitoring Station. Every 15 minutes during the night, their SQM gathers readings that are included with those studied by the Globe at Night international citizen science program and with the DarkSky Texas Sky Quality Meter Program which will soon share this and other readings from around the state for educational purposes.
Experience it for Yourself – And Help Us Spread the Light
Shield Ranch Barton Creek has proven that it’s possible to merge naturally dark night skies with urban living – and it’s up to the rest of us to follow in their steps.You can be a part of this movement too: adopt responsible lighting practices on your property, talk to your friends, spread our educational materials, or help us organize more events. And donate so we can finance more ambitious projects for the coming year. In this way, future generations of Texans will also enjoy the immensity of the stars, with the same intensity as the people of Shield Ranch.
Image Credit: Photo by Smiling Forest Photography
