Will a landfill become PA's next stargazing mecca?

A former landfill in Cameron County may become Pennsylvania’s newest stargazing attraction, one that could draw 10,000 people a year to Pennsylvania’s least populated county.

Officials with the county and the Lumber Heritage Region of Pennsylvania promotional group are working together to revamp the county-owned site and weighing enhancements that include trails, parking, a wildlife viewing area, a dark sky observation field, and more. 

The 99-acre site is an hour away from the internationally renowned — and often very crowded — dark sky viewing at Cherry Springs State Park, and 30 minutes away from Route 6, “one of America's most scenic drives.”

“The goal is to develop this site to allow for public access and use of the site, and hopefully serve as a hub for some education and outreach for dark sky awareness, [light] pollution, and increasing the dark skies in the area,” Rowan Crisp, education outreach administrator for the Lumber Heritage Region group, explained. 

Because the area is a reclaimed landfill and former strip mine, Crisp said the goal is to not disturb the environment in the process of creating amenities, meaning large buildings and excavations are out while lighter options like a pavilion and elk viewing area are in. (Cameron County is home to a portion of Pennsylvania’s engineered herd of wild elk, the largest east of the Mississippi.)

“Right now everything is on the table, but we do have to be mindful that we don't want to disturb the soil too much, and we don't want the area to lose its wild attractions,” Crisp added. 

Once updated, Cameron County Commissioner Josh Zucal estimates the site could bring in 10,000 visitors annually. Zucal said that aspect of the undertaking has been met with excitement and reservation from locals. Some are worried about the impact telescope-toting throngs might have on the wild aura of the Pennsylvania Wilds region.

Zucal, who notes the potential economic benefits, expanded on that tension: “We do want these people in the county. We want them coming to experience what we have, and to have the opportunity to possibly live here. But at the same time, know that we are also aware that we don't want to change our dynamic. We don't want to be overflowed with tourism to where it ruins the natural experience, but we do want people to have that natural experience at the same time.”

The number of visitors is only likely to grow if the site obtains international dark sky certification, which Crisp said is a possibility. Cherry Springs, in neighboring Potter County, already has such a designation and can attract up to 90,000 visitors annually. Stargazing there has been described as a primal experience and draws visitors from around the world.

Crowding concerns weren’t the primary focus of a public meeting held on the Cameron County proposal Thursday, but lots of questions were raised that still need to be answered. 

Among the open topics: What’s the best way to deal with the site’s “unbearable mosquitoes”? (Bat houses were one idea.) Should Wi-Fi be made available? How should stargazing crowds be located to avoid scaring off the area’s skittish elk? And can the site be made available in the winter, when nights are longer and stargazing conditions ideal? 

The site, which consists of little more than a dirt road now, is currently open to the public from April to October. 

And while it sits in one of the darkest zones in the entire state, light pollution isn’t out of the question.

The firm brought in to help with the planning effort, Virginia’s Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects, said as much in Thursday’s meeting, pointing to nearby Emporium, the county’s largest town with roughly 2,000 residents, as a spillover source worth watching.

Spotlight PA reported in 2023 that light pollution was a growing concern for officials, including Zucal, across the Pennsylvania Wilds, where darkness is a natural resource. After a dip during the pandemic, light contamination is slowly creeping back up.

Zucal is eyeing a countywide light pollution ordinance, “so that we can have one umbrella for everyone.”

In the meantime, he’s asking everyone with thoughts about the dark sky project to chime in.

A second public meeting is tentatively set for October. Crisp said when the plan is finalized, a final meeting will be held to share out the details. 

Members of the public can submit ideas and suggestions that may be incorporated into the master site plan using this survey through the first week of July.

“We are planning to have this plan wrapped up by the beginning of next year,” Zucal added. “This is the time for anybody who wants to have any kind of feedback.”

—Tanisha Thomas, newsletter writer / reporting contributed by Colin Deppen