Dark Skies, Inc., Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, Colorado International Dark Sky Community Annual Report October, 2017 September, 2018 Our certification efforts continue to attract area, state, and international attention with requests for information to include in publications and other media. More individuals have come forward to join our group and commit to our projects. The Smokey Jack Observatory (SJO) on the western edge of Westcliffe has proven to be a major public outreach tool with six public and 78 privately reserved star parties hosted. The economic impact of the 264 out-of-area/state visitors of the 445 total guests has been calculated on page 7. Area artists are incorporating night sky themes into their artwork giving Dark Skies credit. Finally, the Sky Quality Monitoring Program results show that our extremely dark readings are being maintained at a consistent and excellent level. Summary of Activities Annual advertisement campaign in the local weekly newspaper, total: 24. Annual dark sky themed art contest at elementary school, eleventh year. Continuous weekly astronomy column, Celestial Exploring, in the local weekly newspaper, total: 52. New Custer County tourism branding logo features our dark skies: Dark Skies, Brilliant Opportunities (see page 14) Newspaper articles involving the Dark Skies organization, total: 8. Newspaper Letters to the Editor, total: 2. Fund raising project nets $9,430, 12 th out of 68 non-profit organizations participating in the annual Wet Mountain Valley Spirit Campaign. Tourist publications: articles and calendars in print and Internet, total: 4. Dark Sky Friendly LED fixtures installed at local B&B Public star parties hosted by Dark Skies: 6. (170 attended Perseids event) SJO available by reservation: 78 groups hosted or reserved through September, 2018 totaling 445 guests, and $4,081 donated. Three of the Speaker Series public presentations. Astronomy books given to all 4 th grade students at county school. Sky Quality Monitoring quarterly readings remained at excellent levels. Email distribution list used to keep interested parties informed. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 1
Descriptions and Documentation in Chronological Order Annually: advertisement campaign in The Wet Mountain Tribune Our ad contract includes 15 small 4 x 4 black & white ads that feature dark sky education facts or event announcements, 3 half-page full color ads featuring the art from the annual elementary school contest, 5 medium 5 x 4 full color ads announcing star parties, and 1 small black & white ad in the annual Builder s Guide special edition for a total of 24. Sample advertisements: Annually: school art contest (winner s art used in half-page ads) A dark skies themed art contest at the local elementary school has been conducted since 2009. The art is then used in three half-page color ads during the year in The Wet Mountain Tribune and other publications, as needed. 2017-8 winners are Lily Bomgardner, first place, and Avery Jewell, second place. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 2
Continuously: The weekly column, Celestial Exploring, by Dark Skies members Jim and Charlene Rohr in The Wet Mountain Tribune is a feature column. And we now use MailChimp, an email system, to maintain more timely and responsive contact with our supporters. Currently we have over 200 enrolled. The list is also used for our annual fundraising campaign. September, 2017 through October, 2018: Star party articles in The Wet Mountain Tribune: Last of six scheduled for the summer 2017 season. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 3
Star party articles in The Wet Mountain Tribune (continued): Star party story, scheduled for April 20, 2018, appeared on front page of the Tribune. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 4
A total of 55 vehicles and 170 guests were counted at this public event at the SJO. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 5
Impact of the SJO on Visitors and the Local Economy: In 2015 and 2016, many national media stories featured the IDA s Community Certification of the towns Westcliffe and Silver Cliff, the first in Colorado, along with the newly dedicated SJO. You can watch these videos and read these articles at this link: http://darksky.org/idsp/communities/thecliffs/ In addition to media reports, the State of Colorado Tourism Office recently listed Westcliffe and Silver Cliff as one of 14 Places to Stargaze in Colorado. Also, the U.S. Travel Association (USTA), which drives $4.7 billion in future travel to the United States from around the globe, hosted its annual event in Denver of this year. At the event, the majestic night sky of Custer County and the SJO were featured to worldwide travel professionals as a major asset in USTA s marketing of places to experience along Colorado s Scenic and Historic Byways. Throughout the year, the SJO provides free public and private Star Parties, hosted by trained Star Guides from Dark Skies. What began as a fun way to allow the local community to visit the SJO and potentially attract out of town visitors has turned into a dramatic boom in tourism and community interest. Clint Smith, the lead Dark Skies Star Guide, states that the SJO was almost completely booked for June and July, while bookings are fast reaching capacity for August and September, as well. He also notes that at least half of the visitors to the SJO visit Custer County specifically to view our dark skies, inevitably contributing to the economic growth of the Valley. The excitement for the SJO is not just limited to out of town visitors. Locals alike are experiencing the breathtaking views of the stars through the SJO s telescope. After a recent public Star Party, Custer County resident Richard Posadas stated that he saw the mountains on the Moon and stars last night for the first time like never before and was shocked at how clearly he could see the moons of Jupiter. Recently, a private Star Party hosted a visually impaired woman and her seeing eye dog from Charleston, SC. She was able to see Jupiter for the first time via the telescope and was able to see many other astronomical objects on the SJO s video monitor using World Wide Telescope. Another recent private Star Party hosted a couple from Boston, MA who started making travel plans to visit the SJO three years ago after seeing NBC s Today Show profile on our Dark Skies certification. Other visitors are making special side trips to Custer County while visiting Denver for business. This boom in tourism has also benefited the local B&B operators in the County and contributed to our lodging tax. Charley Ellison, the owner of Dark Skies Vacations, manages multiple Airbnb properties in the county and reports a strong uptick in bookings this summer, with close to 100% occupancy, due to our Dark Sky Certification (two-thirds of his guests tell him that visiting the SJO and seeing our night sky are primary reasons for visiting the Valley.) As of August 24, 2018, SJO visitors have voluntarily donated $4,081. On the following page is a spreadsheet of activity at the Smokey Jack Observatory, including the privately reserved star parties that are hosted by Dark Skies volunteer Star Guides and the six scheduled public star parties. Also indicated is the economic impact to the local economy from the out-of-area visitors. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 6
Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 7
November, 2017: Graphic insert for Dark Skies in the Wet Mountain Valley Community Foundation s (WMVCF) Guide to Local Non- Profits, a special edition publication to The Wet Mountain Tribune. The WMVCF is an important means of financial support to many non-profit organizations in Custer County as they organize an annual inclusive fund drive, the Spirit Campaign. The allure of matching funds from the WMVCF encourages more of the public to donate and at a higher level than if each non-profit was dependent on running their own separate fund drives. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 8
June, 2018: Out There, Colorado article on Westcliffe: Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 9
January, 2018: The Wet Mountain Tribune article announcing the results of the Spirit Campaign results. Since 2009 when the Spirit Campaign first became available, Dark Skies averaged about $6,500, including WMVCF matching funds, usually at a rate of 20%-25% of donations. After being designated a Dark Sky Community in 2015, our portion of the 2016 campaign rose to $10,507 and have remained high ever since. These results indicate the high level of support as compared to the other non-profit organizations as we came in 12 th out of 68. http://www.wmvcf.org/spirit-campaign.aspx Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 10
March, 2018: The Wet Mountain Tribune article: Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 11
June, 2018: The Wet Mountain Tribune article: Highlighted text: LeBlond goes on to say, Dark Skies has always influenced me, after all I am Blue Moon Pottery, and now I get the opportunity to explore it more in my work to share with the public. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 12
June, 2018: Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 13
August, 2018: Tribune Editorial and announcement of new tourism branding logo: Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 14
January, 2018: Letters in the Wet Mountain Tribune: Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 15
November, 2017: Dark Skies sponsors astro-imaging workshops. Mike Pach of 3 Peaks Photography presented the first of two astro-imaging presentations to about 30 attendees on November 18, 2017. This was the first of the new Speaker Series. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 16
March, 2018: The second of the astro-imaging Speaker Series. April, 2018: The third of the Speaker Series, All About Telescopes. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 17
Thirty-four attended the All About Telescopes lecture. August, 2018: Dark Skies purchases and installs LED sign lighting fixtures at the Lamp Post Lodge just north of Westcliffe. Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 18
2018 Sky Quality Monitoring (SQM) Program readings continue to be taken each quarter from ten locations within the two towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff. The extremely dark readings beginning February, 2014, demonstrate the successful efforts by Dark Skies in the 15 years from 2000 2015 prior to the certification effort and indicate that there has been no degradation of the conditions during our current annual review. In fact, the latest readings are within the margin of error during the towns power outage in February, 2017 (highlighted in the chart below)! * This annual report was compiled and produced by Dark Skies member Ed Stewart, <stargazer@skymtn.com> Westcliffe & Silver Cliff, CO 2018 Annual Report 19