The New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) participated in the Dark for the Park Alliance's Recognition Celebration on January 9th. The event, initially planned at Carlsbad National Caverns, was moved to the National Cave and Karst Research Institute due to bad weather. It celebrated Franklin Mountain Energy's commitment to preserving dark skies.

Notable attendees included Marcellus Davis from NMOGA, Carmen Chapin from Carlsbad National Park, Rachael Overbey of Franklin Mountain Energy, Clay Treadaway also from Franklin Mountain Energy, Alexandra Fleming from Chevron, Lindsey Ball of Franklin Mountain Energy, Ruskin Hartley of DarkSky International, and Michael Rymer from DarkSky International.

Stephen Hummel served as the guest speaker. He is the Senior Outreach Program Coordinator for the McDonald Observatory's Dark Skies initiative. The celebration saw representatives from Eddy and Lea County, the City of Carlsbad, the Bureau of Land Management, Chevron, NMOGA, National Parks Services, and the National Parks Conservation Association come together. They recognized Franklin Mountain Energy as the first oil and gas site certified for night sky preservation.