WHEREAS, the aesthetic beauty and wonder of a natural night sky is a shared heritage of all humankind; and

WHEREAS, 80 percent of the world's population, and almost all Americans, live under a dome of light pollution – excessive artificial lighting at night that disrupts natural darkness – and may never experience the visual wonder or ecological and health benefits of living under a dark sky; and

WHEREAS, light pollution has scientifically-established economic and environmental consequences which result in significant impacts to the ecology and human health of all communities; and

WHEREAS, Maine has the largest area of dark skies east of the Mississippi River and celebrates an International Dark Sky Sanctuary in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and an International Dark Sky Park within the 100-Mile Wilderness of the Appalachian Trail; and

WHEREAS, Maine's ruralness and dark skies are an attribute supportive of the growth of eco-tourism to less-visited areas of our state and are within a day's drive of tens of millions of tourists in the eastern United States; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with 1 MRSA §150-Y, the State of Maine designates the second full week of May and second full week of September each year as Dark Sky Week;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim May 10-16, 2026 as

Dark Sky Week

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this seventh day of May Two Thousand Twenty-Six