An area that’s nearly half the size of New Jersey in southern Oregon was recently named the world’s largest Dark Sky Sanctuary by DarkSky International. The nonprofit works to combat light pollution through advocacy and conservation, including a program that has certified more than 200 places around the world to protect the night sky.

The Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary spans 2.5 million acres of mostly public land in eastern Lake County, and could eventually grow to more than four times that size to include parts of Harney and Malheur Counties. To win certification as a Dark Sky Sanctuary, the applicants had to work with numerous stakeholders to draw the site’s boundaries, monitor night sky quality, inventory outdoor lights and retrofit more than 60 light fixtures on public and private lands. Dawn Nilson is a natural resources planner, amateur astronomer and the project manager of the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary. She joins us to talk about this conservation effort and future expansion plans for the sanctuary.