1. Do you have a favorite object in the night sky or a special memory of looking up at the night sky – maybe on a camping trip, or with family/friends?

Chris Heaton (CC)

For sure, I love camping in the hills under the stars. My oldest two girls and I were camping in the bed of my truck, when they were 5 and 3 years old. I couldn’t get them to go to sleep until way after midnight due to the fact they wouldn’t stop singing twinkle twinkle little star.

Colten Johnson (M)

I don’t have any favorites or specific memories, but I’ve always loved looking at the stars when we are out in the hills hunting, fishing, or camping, or out to the ranch at night. Our kids love to sleep on the tramp at night in the summer and look for shooting stars. It’s one of the many things I enjoy about our area.

David Lane (CC)

I’m a little bit torn on this answer. I think the Orion nebula is probably my favorite thing in the sky, but Andromeda and the trifid nebula are both way up there. I think being able to see the Orion nebula naked eye is a big help toward making it my favorite. Also, it’s the first thing I ever photographed that was in deep space

Steve Shrope (CC)

The Big Dipper. First constellation my Dad taught me to find.

Jessie Riddle (CC)

Very much, its a calming always the best part is the sunset to the stars

2. Have you ever been to a star party or used a telescope before? What was that like for you?

Chris Heaton

I have, it’s pretty impressive to view the stars and planets with telescopes.

Colten Johnson

I’ve been to some events that my kids have been involved in at the schools, and used telescopes a few times. It’s fun to watch my kids learn and get excited about those things.

David Lane

It’s always a treat to go to a star party, meeting people, looking through different telescopes at deep space objects is a lot of fun and if people haven’t done it, they need to as often as they can

Steve Shrope

Never been party of a star party. Had a telescope as a kid. Enjoyed looking for planets and checking out the craters on the moon

Jessie Riddle

no but would love to

3. Astrotourism – visitors coming here for stargazing – is a growing industry in Utah and around the world. How do you think astrotourism could better support Kanab’s economy and would you be willing to encourage that?

Chris Heaton

Kanab city is always looking for ways to diversify its economy. However, am I willing to add more restrictions to our dark sky ordinance? probably not.

Colten Johnson

I feel that Kanab’s tourism industry will most likely be pretty strong almost no matter what happens. I think that astrotourism is one part of the picture, among many other aspects that people enjoy when they come to visit. I would support encouraging astrotourism, but not in ways that steps on the toes of individual residents or activities that locals enjoy via more regulations.

David Lane

There’s already a fairly large size convention that comes to Kanab each year and brings hundreds of Astro tourists to the city. I think as the word gets out about how pristine the skies are here, there will be more that follow and could be a nice subset of tourism for the city

Steve Shrope

Astrotourism isn’t an area I have a lot of knowledge on. I’m happy to meet and discuss how the City could support the industry as well as how the industry could better support Kanab’s economy.

Jessie Riddle

yes

4. As Kanab continues to grow, how much of a priority do you believe it should be to preserve our view of the night sky? Do you think it’s possible to balance growth with protecting Kanab’s dark sky heritage?

Sky quality measurements over the years show that light pollution is increasing in Kanab. The area is now considered to be in a “rural/suburban transition” zone on the Bortle Scale—meaning our night sky is shifting away from what’s typically seen in a rural setting and becoming more like a suburban sky.

Chris Heaton

Preserving Kanab’s night sky is fine, however I think we need to be careful with what role the government should play and how much teeth we want the government to have. With residential housing contributing under 20% of light pollution, it’s clear most of the issue stems from sources like commercial, government lighting and municipal lighting. These entities are harder to restrict due to safety and operational needs. Heavy-handed policies, like blanket lighting bans, could burden homeowners and businesses, inflate costs, and erode property rights without tackling the main culprits.

Colten Johnson

I feel like finding away to keep Kanab an actual small town rather than a booming suburban area full of California cookie cutter type subdivisions is the best way to preserve the night sky, among many other things I love about the area my family settled and continues to enjoy for 9 generations now. It’s obviously not possible to enjoy the benefits of rural life if we grow at a rapid pace to the point that we are no longer rural. If you’re not a small town, you’re not a small town. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. I feel our current lighting ordinance is more than sufficient to preserve the night sky, and that planning and zoning decisions are much more of a threat to our rural way of life. This includes decisions made by the county, and now unfortunately the state, not just the city.

David Lane

I think almost everyone in Kanab is proud of the night skies here and the ability to see the Milky Way. Some may not realize how lucky they are, but the more that we can do to preserve this beautiful night sky for generations to come is important. Change and growth will come to Kanab, but the more that we can preserve that beautiful night sky view the better.

Steve Shrope

Kanab has dark sky ordinances in place. As Kanab grows, so will the amount of light. The ordinances will help to minimize that, but that’s the tradeoff of growth.

Jessie Riddle

yes

5. What do you see as the pros and cons of Kanab becoming a certified Dark Sky Community?

About Dark Sky Certification: Becoming a certified Dark Sky Community through DarkSky International is a voluntary designation that recognizes towns and cities committed to preserving the natural night sky through responsible outdoor lighting. Communities that pursue this designation typically adopt an outdoor lighting ordinance (which Kanab already has), promote fully shielded light fixtures, and use warm color lighting to reduce light pollution. Certified communities often report benefits such as increased astrotourism, energy savings from efficient lighting, and improved quality of life for residents. Nearby examples include Helper and Torrey, Utah — both of which have embraced their dark sky status as part of their identity and tourism appeal.

Chris Heaton

Again, I feel like there are some pros, we all love to see the stars. However, am I willing to add more restrictions to the lighting ordinance to get there? Probably not. Because Kanab City currently does have a lighting ordinance but it does not have enough restrictions to get us the certification. We live in an amazing place where we can drive a couple miles north, east, and south see the night sky.

Colten Johnson

I don’t necessarily aspire for Kanab to be more like Helper, Torrey, Springdale, Moab, Sedona, etc. Sure, I’m looking at that more culturally, rather than from a night sky aspect, but those designations often seem to go hand in hand. There are other rural communities in Utah with amazing night skies that are more culturally aligned with the Kanab I have always known, that haven’t needed that certification (head out to Milford, Fillmore, Delta, Enterprise, Beaver, Monroe, Gunnison, etc.) I was frustrated with the attitude I felt was attached to our previous ordinance, where some felt it was appropriate to write rude letters to neighbors about the lights on their families homes, or complain about the lights being on for football, baseball games, or rodeos. This attitude almost always was shown by those who just recently moved here from urban areas, adding to our population and probably our light pollution too. I don’t want to revert back to that, or give that type of attitude or behavior any more momentum or attention.

David Lane

I think it would be great for Kanab to become a certified dark sky community. I’m not sure how important it is in the grand scheme of things if people will just take the time to put in the minimum effort that is really required to keep the skies here dark. As long as tourism remains a large portion of Kanab‘s revenues I think it’s very important that we appeal to people who do come here to see these dark skies. The effort to keep the skies dark in the grand scheme of things is very minimal and the benefits far out weigh any inconvenience from having blindingly bright lights.

Steve Shrope

The pros you’ve pointed out in the explanation . The big con for me with creating additional ordinances is the City would be, in my opinion, neglecting their duties to focus on all citizens to help a specific group. I feel that’s always a dangerous road to go down and also not the most affective way. Sylvia came and met with me and explained some things about lighting. Education will do more than legislation.

Jessie Riddle

yes