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San Miguel County commissioners back letter supporting countywide Dark Sky Reserve application
Summary
The board voted to recommend a letter of support for the Norwood Dark Sky Advocates’ application to Dark Sky International, authorizing staff to edit a draft and coordinate with land managers; advocates say the designation would make San Miguel the first county-level reserve.
Bob Grossman, lead applicant for the Norwood Dark Sky Advocates, outlined an application to Dark Sky International and asked the San Miguel County Board of Commissioners to recommend a letter of support.
Grossman said the designation recognizes large areas committed to reducing light pollution through smart lighting—warmer color temperatures and fixtures that direct light downward—and stressed the county’s progress updating its land-use code and lighting inventories. “We will be number 1 if we do this,” Grossman said, describing the county as a candidate to become the first county-level dark sky reserve in the world.
Commissioners and staff discussed technical items Grossman flagged, including lighting inventories for Telluride and Mountain Village and a sticking point over international signage rules. Grossman said those town ordinances mostly comply with reserve requirements except for Dark Sky International’s strict signage standards.
After discussion, Commissioner (Speaker 5) moved to recommend the draft letter of support and direct staff to run it through the county’s editing process; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Chair (Speaker 2) said staff would coordinate edits with Grossman and county planning staff (Star) and then schedule the edited letter for a formal vote on a future agenda.
The board’s action was procedural: it recommended endorsing and editing a draft support letter rather than approving a final text. Grossman asked federal and state land managers to participate in the application process and said endorsements from those agencies would strengthen the reserve application. Staff confirmed they will circulate an edited draft for commissioner review before returning it to a future meeting for formal adoption.
Next steps: staff will incorporate municipal-support language requested by commissioners, coordinate with Grossman and Star on edits and invite federal/state land managers to join the outreach for the International Dark Sky Reserve application.
