Artificial nighttime light is devastating to wildlife

May 8, 2025, Madison Eagle

TO THE EDITOR: The Friends of the Drew Forest would like to make residents aware of the impact of artificial nighttime light on insects and birds, particularly migratory birds. April – June is peak season for birds migrating north to and through New Jersey, and it might surprise some to know that many species travel long distances during the night. Area forests, including the Drew Forest, provide excellent “stopover habitat” for birds to rest and feed during the day.

These countless birds migrating through New Jersey need dark skies to survive and thrive. In fact, scientists are learning more every year about the negative effects of what they call “ALAN” - Artificial Light At Night - on both plants and animals (including humans). This is not surprising, since we all evolved over millennia with nights being dark and experiencing only natural light from the moon and stars.

Sadly, migrating birds are hurt in various ways, over and above the many millions who die in collisions with lit-up buildings. Birds navigate using natural light, and they get attracted to and confused by artificial light, causing them to waste energy. Certainly, they can’t afford to waste energy on their long, arduous migrations.

Lights can also render those important ‘stopover sites’ less suitable for rest and rejuvenation. In addition, artificial night can even change bird behavior, leading to males’ singing at new times of day. To let artificial lights shine near natural areas such as the Madison Recreational Complex would be horrible for birds.

Insects also get attracted to Artificial Light at Night and are either killed outright or die slowly from the loss of valuable energy spent pursuing artificial lights. Human lighting of the night is a key factor in the decline of insect populations, leading to less food for birds and bats and fewer pollinators for our plants.

Even trees are hurt by ALAN. Not only can bright night-time light influence a tree’s photosynthesis process, but artificial light also leads to trees becoming active too early in spring and staying active too late in the fall. Trees that are near artificial light at night are less healthy and have shorter lives than those that still enjoy the gift of natural darkness.

Clearly ALAN is a problem. The organization DarkSky International, and others, are working to mitigate it. In fact, seventeen states have laws regulating artificial lighting in various ways. According to DarkSky, lights should only be on at night when absolutely required, and be directed only to where they are needed, without upward spillage. They should be warm toned since white lights with blue content are the most disruptive.

We hope you will agree that the installation in Florham Park of a large billboard that is lit all night (24 hours a day) next to the MRC’s wildflower meadow and conservation forest would be a very bad idea. Madison went to great pains to choose wildlife friendly yellow toned lighting for the solar car ports under construction. Any lighting that is not yellow toned and is on all night harms moths, birds, insects, and wildlife. Additionally, we urge citizens to turn off their own lights at night to protect our living ecosystem.

COLETTE CRESCAS

Albright Circle

Madison

Editor's note: These comments were presented by the writer, a board member of the Friends of the Drew Forest, at the Madison Borough Council meeting on Monday, April 28, 2025.