August 9, 2018 500 AM
BREWSTER COUNTY – The dark skies of the Big Bend may get lighter, with the addition of two proposed telecommunication towers in the south Brewster County communities of Terlingua and Study Butte.
The proposed towers are to be 250 feet, and the Federal Aviation Administration requires lighting to be placed on structures that are over 200 feet. This has prompted Brewster County to modify its outdoor lighting regulation to state, “effective June 13, 2018, new communication tower safety lighting must use lighting that has the least impact on dark skies and still be in compliance with federal regulations, and new communication tower safety lighting is not authorized unless required by federal regulations.”
The Brewster County City Commissioners are serious about dark skies, according to Hugh Garrett, Precinct 2 City Commissioner,” they [Alta] still have to comply with regulations, not just lighting but historical preservation.”
Grady Price Blount, a Study Butte resident and owner of Big Bend Observatory sees this as an economic insult. “People come from the cities to see the dark skies.” Blount lives six miles away from where the proposed Terlingua tower would be built and his business relies on what he refers to as “astrotourism”- a combination of lodging and astrological science.
Bill Wren, Public Affairs Specialist at McDonald Observatory has dealt with cell towers over the years. “I have learned the people to talk to are the owners of the towers.” According to Wren, the towers do not need to be over 200 feet and if the owners understand the effects the towers will have on the area, then they would be more inclined to scale back the size. Wren works tirelessly in the region, as a defender of the Big Bend’s Dark Skies Initiative to keep the light on the ground and out of the sky.
Any interested party wishing to submit comments regarding the potential effects of the proposed facility may have on any historic property may do so by sending comments to: Project 6118005180-SBT c/o EBI Consulting, 6876 Susquehanna Trail South York, PA 17403, or via telephone at (248) 390-9151.
At the time of publication, Alta Towers could not be reached for comment.
