Forest Preserve District in Illinois Adopts New Light Pollution Policy to Protect Wildlife

The Kane County Forest Preserve District is introducing a new policy aimed at minimizing light Pollution, which has been shown to negatively impact local wildlife. Patrick Chess, the district’s director of natural resource management, announced that starting July 1, all new outdoor lighting installations will adhere to strict standards. These standards emphasize the use of purposeful, targeted, low-intensity, controlled, and warm-colored lighting.

The policy, inspired by guidelines from DarkSky International, a nonprofit focused on combating light Pollution, was unanimously approved by the Forest Preserve Commission. This initiative seeks to protect various wildlife species, including insects, birds, and amphibians, from the adverse effects of artificial lighting. For instance, migratory birds can become disoriented by artificial lights, leading to energy wastage or fatal collisions with buildings. Amphibians, whose mating calls are triggered by darkness, also suffer disruptions in their breeding cycles due to excessive lighting.

To comply with the new policy, the Forest Preserve District will use light fixtures that direct illumination downward, limiting skyward light to less than 0.5% of the total output or 50 lumens. This figure is reduced to 10 lumens for areas at specific angles from the ground. Additionally, outdoor lighting must be warm-toned, with a correlated color temperature of 3000 Kelvin or lower, except for sports-related lighting, which can go up to 5700 Kelvin.

An internal audit will be conducted to identify existing fixtures that need updates, ensuring that compliance is achieved over time without significant budget impacts. The policy also prohibits strobe and laser lights for new constructions and restricts flashing lights to security systems, which must be deactivated within 30 minutes.

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Related Content:

• 10 Detrimental Effects of Light Pollution on Nocturnal Animals
• How Light Pollution is Dulling Glow-Worms
• How Light Pollution Might Impact Mosquito Season and West Nile Virus
• Light Pollution is Causing Earlier and Longer Pollen Seasons Among Urban Plants

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