Davis, W.Va. — The Blackwater Falls State Park Foundation (BWFSPF) is thrilled to announce that it has recently been approved for a $12,000 grant from the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to further its work towards International Dark Sky certification at Blackwater Falls State Park. Specifically, the grant will fund the replacement of all exterior lighting fixtures at the Blackwater Falls State Park Lodge that are not currently dark sky-compliant.
Dark Sky certification is granted by DarkSky International, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the nighttime environment and protect communities and wildlife from light pollution. Certifying and helping to conserve starry sky parks, communities and other places around the world is one important component of DarkSky International’s work.
The skies over Tucker County are some of the darkest in the state of West Virginia and, in fact, some of the darkest on the East Coast of the U.S. Blackwater Falls State Park is already a premier destination for stargazers and astrophotographers or those who just want to marvel at the Milky Way, the planets, meteor showers, or other celestial events in the gorgeous natural setting provided by the park. The park already hosts annual astronomy and astrophotography conferences, and night sky-focused public programming will increase when the park is certified by DarkSky International.
Since 2022, the BWFSPF has been raising the money for and working to replace all light fixtures in Blackwater Falls State Park that are not Dark Sky-compliant with compliant fixtures. In 2025 alone, the BWFSPF spent over $14,000 to purchase and install dark sky-compliant lighting.
“We are exceedingly grateful for Dominion Energy’s confidence and support of the BWFSPF in its significant work with Blackwater Falls State Park as we pursue International Dark Sky certification,” said Blaine Steensland, president of the BWFSPF. “Specifically, this grant will be used to retrofit the Lodge’s exterior lighting, making it fully compliant with Dark Sky requirements — a key project that was not financially feasible at this time without Dominion Energy’s most appreciated involvement.”
Added Judy Cronauer, treasurer of the BWFSPF, “The park’s visitor lodge has 100 external fixtures, 71 of which are noncompliant. We received a quote of $12,000 to purchase and replace the 71 fixtures with dark sky-compliant fixtures, which we did not have the funds to do. Because of the generosity of Dominion Energy, we’ll be able to complete this critical phase of our work in 2026.”
Separately, work has already begun to install dark sky-compliant lighting at the “classic” cabins (cabins 1-26) at the park, a project that includes replacing 56 fixtures at an estimated cost of $7,500.
DarkSky International requires that at least two-thirds of all light fixtures in the park are dark sky-compliant prior to applying for certification. To date, the BWFSPF has replaced (or certified as already compliant) 130 of the park’s 324 light fixtures (40%).
“With the 71 fixtures at the lodge that will be replaced with the funding from Dominion Energy, and the 56 lights that we are in the process of replacing at the “classic” cabins, we will reach and exceed the minimum threshold required to submit our application,” said Steensland. “Once our application is approved and Blackwater Falls State Park is certified as an International Dark Sky Park, we will have 5 more years to reach the 90% compliance level, and 10 years for 100% compliance.”
Dark sky-compliant lights are designed to minimize the amount of light that shines upward or outward. To accomplish this, they typically have shields on the top and sides of the fixtures so light only shines downward. Further, compliant lights have a warmer color and cooler temperature (less than 3000K) and reduced brightness. Dark sky lights generally use less energy than conventional outdoor lighting and so are less expensive to use. Many homes and businesses in Tucker County already have dark sky-compliant exterior lights, and the BWFSPF hopes the dark sky project at Blackwater Falls State Park inspires more community interest in installing dark sky-compliant lights.
