diff --git a/catalog/dags/common/cloudwatch.py b/catalog/dags/common/cloudwatch.py
index 2ebb33f1b61..1ac3b985426 100644
--- a/catalog/dags/common/cloudwatch.py
+++ b/catalog/dags/common/cloudwatch.py
@@ -4,9 +4,11 @@
 """
 
 import logging
+
 import boto3
-from botocore.exceptions import ClientError
 from airflow.models import Variable
+from botocore.exceptions import ClientError
+
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -49,8 +51,8 @@ def enable_alarm_actions(self, alarm_name, enable):
 
 
 def enable_or_disable_alarms(enable):
-    skip_toggling = Variable.get("SKIP_TOGGLING_CLOUDWATCH_ALARMS", False)
-    if skip_toggling:
+    toggle = Variable.get("TOGGLE_CLOUDWATCH_ALARMS", True)
+    if not toggle:
         logger.info("Skipping toggling CloudWatch alarms.")
         return
 
diff --git a/catalog/env.template b/catalog/env.template
index 02c0cf016ed..d2064aeaf66 100644
--- a/catalog/env.template
+++ b/catalog/env.template
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ AWS_SECRET_KEY=test_secret
 OPENVERSE_BUCKET=openverse-storage
 # Whether to toggle production CloudWatch alarms when running a data refresh DAG.
 # Used to prevent requiring AWS credentials when running locally.
-AIRFLOW_VAR_SKIP_TOGGLING_CLOUDWATCH_ALARMS=false
+AIRFLOW_VAR_TOGGLE_CLOUDWATCH_ALARMS=true
 # Seconds to wait before poking for availability of the data refresh pool when running a data_refresh
 # DAG. Used to shorten the time for testing purposes.
 DATA_REFRESH_POKE_INTERVAL=5