Wildlife Lighting
Lighting pollution is a serious threat to many types of wildlife. Each year, artificial light causes disruption of behavior, injury, and death to thousands of migrating birds, sea turtles and other reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and invertebrates. To learn more about the effects of artificial lighting on these animals, go to About Lighting Pollution.
The Solution
First and foremost, there is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR NATURALLY DARK HABITATS. Turning off unnecessary lights is the simplest, most effective, and most energy efficient solution to this issue. However, for situations where artificial lighting is absolutely required for human safety and security, there is another solution.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have teamed up to develop the Wildlife Lighting Certification Program. This program is designed to educate the public, building industries, and government officials on minimizing artificial light impacts to wildlife by identifying proper lighting methods and using appropriate lighting fixtures, lamps, and shields. Appropriate wildlife lighting meets ALL THREE of the criteria below. For more information on these criteria, click on Certification Program.
Keep it LOW - mount the fixture as low as possible and use the lowest wattage necessary for the needed purpose
Keep it LONG - use long wavelength (greater than 560 nm) light sources such as amber, orange, and red LEDs
Keep it SHIELDED - use fixtures that meet or exceed full cutoff that shield lamps or glowing lenses from being directly visible
For more information, please see the FWC's Florida Sea Turtle Lighting Guidelines.
How to Use this Site:
- Lighting manufacturers, distributors, and vendors: To determine if a fixture or lamp may be approved as Wildlife Lighting Certified and placed on FWC's Certified Wildlife Lighting page, please view Wildlife Lighting Certification Criteria and Certification Process.
- Home owners, property managers, developers, code enforcement officers, and other interested parties: To minimize artificial lighting impacts and to explore appropriate wildlife friendly lighting options, please view Certified Fixtures and Bulbs.
- Communities: To become a designated Wildlife Lighting Certified Community, please see our certification process page.
- Grants: There are several potential sources of state and federal funding for long-term lighting improvements. To apply for lighting grants, please view Lighting Grants Program.
- Information: To learn more about wildlife lighting issues and the effects of artificial lighting on wildlife, please About Lighting Pollution and Wildlife Lighting Publications.