on September 29, 2020 / by Downtown Dallas Inc. / in Blog Posts, Clean and Safe, Parks and Public Space
You may notice that Downtown Dallas’ beautiful and bright skyline may look a bit different over the next 10 days, due to the efforts of an international Lights Out initiative to protect birds as they migrate across the U.S.
Many Dallas Leaders have joined this growing movement to dim “unnecessary” tower lights in Downtown Dallas-led by a coalition of local Dallas constituents including former first lady Laura Bush and institutions like the Dallas Zoo and Perot Museum and scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Colorado State University.
According to organizers, every spring and fall, nearly two billion birds travel through Texas. This massive passage of birds – one of the largest on the planet - occurs at night, conflicting with nighttime illumination. Light attracts these migrating birds, making them vulnerable to collisions with buildings. Upwards of one billion birds die in collisions with buildings in the US annually, according to Lights Out Texas, and Texas may be particularly hazardous due to high illumination in large cities and higher-than-average bird migration volumes. Dallas ranked #3 of the 125 most populous U.S. cities for exposing migrating birds and Houston #2. Dallas is one of four Texas cities certified as Bird Cities, and Mrs. Bush, along with Ambassador Jeanne Phillips and Deedie Rose urge community participation for Dallas to join an international Lights Out effort.
Specifically, the effort calls for buildings to turn off or dim their lights from September 29th – October 10th, from midnight to 6:00 a.m.
So as you see parts of our skyline dim, look more closely for signs of our winged friends passing through!
Click here to view a PSA from Mrs. Bush.
For DDI’s building members, if you plan to participate, please be sure to email Shalissa Perry, perry@downtowndallas.com, so you will be included in future communication.
tags: See More Posts
