A planned four-night memorial tribute atop Mount Washington is now facing an unexpected obstacle: the mountain’s night sky is also a major flight path for migrating birds. New Hampshire officials are reviewing whether the proposed 9/11 light installation can honor the 25th anniversary of the attacks without creating an environmental hazard.
The Honor Summit organizers want to send two vertical beams from the summit of Mount Washington from September 9 through September 12, operating nightly from 8 p.m. to midnight. The project’s Honor Summit website says the beams could be visible from communities across New Hampshire and beyond, with the installation intended to honor victims, first responders, veterans, and communities in need.
Organizers submitted a special-use permit application on July 24, but state approval was still pending Thursday. As reported by The Boston Globe, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and the Department of Environmental Services were weighing potential effects from the artificial lighting.
The Bird Question Is Not Theoretical
High-intensity beams can attract and disorient birds during overnight migration, especially when clouds or weather conditions keep them flying at lower elevations. Research and reporting from the Cornell Lab documented how New York City’s annual Tribute in Light has repeatedly drawn migrating songbirds into its beams.
New York’s memorial provides a ready-made cautionary example for New Hampshire. The NYC Bird Alliance says the twin beams there can produce bird densities up to 150 times higher than surrounding conditions, prompting organizers to shut the lights off temporarily when large numbers of birds become trapped or disoriented.
That is the model New Hampshire organizers are trying to adapt. According to The Boston Globe, organizers are discussing a shutdown protocol, lower-intensity and redder lights, and shielding that would point the beams directly at the intended location rather than scattering light unnecessarily into the sky.
Permit Review Could Shape The Tribute
The environmental review is especially significant because September coincides with peak nocturnal migration in New Hampshire. Warblers, sparrows, buntings, and other small songbirds may be moving through the region as the planned tribute takes place, creating a situation in which a symbolic display could also become a powerful beacon.
Organizers say the project remains on schedule while the state reviews the application, but the final design and operating rules may not be settled until officials weigh the lighting plan and its safeguards. With nearly $150,000 in sponsorships already raised and at least $300,000 more sought, the tribute is becoming a substantial undertaking — and one that now has to prove it can remember the dead without sending living visitors into a four-night aerial traffic jam.
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