Surrounded by the low hum of swamp bugs, Anthony Sleiman pointed his camera to the west.
The conservation photographer was more than 15 miles from the state鈥檚 newly built immigrant detention center, dubbed . But just before 10 p.m. on July 1, he could see the site鈥檚 glow with his naked eye.
Sleiman, whose night-sky Everglades images were featured last year in the national park鈥檚 visitor center, is concerned that the industrial lights emitting from the facility could harm the protected wildlife in a preserve globally recognized for its dark skies.
He鈥檚 not alone: The leading international authority that certifies 鈥渄ark sky鈥 parks says the artificial light from Alligator Alcatraz 鈥渄irectly threatens鈥 the preserve鈥檚 renowned natural darkness and disrupts endangered nocturnal wildlife.
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It鈥檚 one of the latest environmental and human rights concerns stemming from the , Florida.
Aerial view of structures, including gigantic tents built at the recently opened migrant detention center, 鈥淎lligator Alcatraz,鈥 located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on July 4.
After a rigorous process with the U.S. National Park Service, DarkSky International in 2016 designated Florida鈥檚 Big Cypress National Preserve as the nation鈥檚 first preserve to achieve 鈥渄ark sky鈥 status, meaning it鈥檚 home to one of the last remaining reservoirs of darkness unimpeded by the glow of human development.
But the state鈥檚 detention center, built for , runs counter to the preserve鈥檚 commitment to protecting the darkness many species rely on, the group said.
鈥淭he development represents a significant step backward for dark sky conservation efforts in a region where considerable resources have been invested in Everglades restoration,鈥 the group said in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times.
鈥淧rotecting the natural night environment is an integral part of broader ecosystem health and resilience.鈥
Night-sky images from the past week taken by聽photographers like Sleiman and environmental advocates appear to depict the facility鈥檚 glow more than a dozen miles from the site. Satellite imagery from NASA also shows the facility standing out amid dark wilderness on all sides.
Whether Big Cypress could keep its designation as a 鈥渄ark sky鈥 preserve depends on an annual review of light pollution data, according to Ruskin Hartley, executive director of DarkSky International.
Big Cypress is revered by astronomers, photographers and parkgoers as a nighttime sanctuary from the light pollution emitting from Miami to the east and Naples to the west. The park service with phrases like 鈥淗alf the park is after dark!鈥
Detainees of Alligator Alcatraz, they are enduring inhumane conditions at the site, said the lights are on at the facility at all times. Critics of the detention facility have argued that not only is it cruel to house detainees in the heat of the swamp, but the state and federal government have also brushed aside environmental laws protecting the park.
In a court filing last week, suing local, state and federal officials to stop activity at the detention center underscored what they called violations of environmental law and argued the night sky over Big Cypress 鈥渘ow glows like Yankee Stadium, visible from 15-miles away.鈥
The two advocacy groups, Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, say the artificial lighting is defiling the night sky, harming public enjoyment and disrupting the habitat of species that thrive at night.
For one, the Florida bonneted bat, an exceedingly rare species living in habitat around the detention center, relies on the cover of night to hunt and can be deterred by artificial lights. Florida panthers, too, are more active at night, and Florida鈥檚 wildlife agency considers light pollution a form of habitat loss.
Officials have not responded to questions from the Times about the state鈥檚 lighting at the facility, including whether there鈥檚 any consideration for adhering to the preserve鈥檚 dark sky designation.
Videos from June 26 show industrial flatbed trucks shuttling what appear to be Sunbelt temporary lighting structures into the entrance of the detention center, according to footage taken by Jessica Namath, founder of the advocacy group Floridians for Public Lands.
It wasn鈥檛 easy for Big Cypress National Preserve to become the nation鈥檚 first 鈥渄ark sky鈥 park in 2016: Staff had to retrofit hundreds of light fixtures and create guidelines for when and where lights could be turned on at night.
In its application, the park service noted the presence of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport within the preserve鈥檚 boundaries 鈥 the site where the detention center now stands.
The only night use for the airport, staff wrote, would be emergency landings, and there hadn鈥檛 been one in 25 years.
鈥淭here are no plans to expand or change the layout or usage of the (airport),鈥 staff wrote at the time.
John Barentine, who oversaw the dark sky program when Big Cypress was being considered, said the airport鈥檚 current use, with lighting surrounding the detention facility, would have likely disqualified the preserve from being named a dark sky park.
鈥淚t would鈥檝e been a problem,鈥 Barentine said.
He compared the situation to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. When that park applied to be named a dark sky park, lighting from a Job Corps center drew out the process for years.
DarkSky International said in its statement that the construction of the detention facility 鈥渄emands the most rigorous application of dark-sky friendly lighting principles.鈥 Since 1988, the group has designated about 200 places across the world that work to fend off light pollution.
鈥淎 lot of people think the Everglades goes to sleep at sunset, but that鈥檚 not true. That鈥檚 when it鈥檚 waking up,鈥 Sleiman said.
But now, dusk also awakens the lights of what looks like a baseball stadium from afar.
鈥淚 want people to know the Everglades is one of the last places in Florida where we have these night skies,鈥 Sleiman said.
