Good question.

The group "For the Love of the Lake" specifically asked about this when the scheme was first proposed.

Short answer is that Parks never took wildlife into consideration, much less the natural beauty of the lakeside.

This is simply a case of a lighting contractor and some complicit Parks staffers pushing the maximum number of lights possible as close to the lakeside as possible. With money taken from the spillway project and some bond funds.

For the benefit of the contractor and the aggrandizement of a handful of advocates + Park's staff.

Since the most common crime at the lake is BMV, these lights would simply enable a burglar to see into cars at night to burglarize them. So totally counterproductive. (Security cameras a better deterrent)

There is no justification for putting lights along the lake front trails = it harms the environment and the views.