External article from the Big Bend Sentinel

Last week, the McDonald Observatory announced that the greater Big Bend region — which includes protected areas across the border in Mexico — had become the world’s first International Dark Sky Reserve. The new designation not only marks Big Bend as the first such binational reserve, but at more than 15,000 square miles, it has also become the world’s biggest.

The University of Texas at Austin’s McDonald Observatory, The Nature Conservancy – Davis Mountain Preserve, and the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) are pleased to announce the certification of the Greater Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve.