Four years of work, months of public review and a
$1.5 million investment have paid off for Glacier National Park
planners. Last summer, the Park Service signed the General
Management Plan that will guide Glacier’s resource management for
the next few decades. Project leader Mary Riddle says the plan
reflects people’s desire to keep the park the way it is. “They
value Glacier for the experiences it has to offer and the resources
that are here now,” she says. Using the plan’s framework, park
staff will restore Glacier’s aging buildings and construct a new
multimillion-dollar “West Side Discovery Center and Museum.” The
draft plan had proposed closing the popular but deteriorating
Going-to-the-Sun Road for four to six years of repairs. Criticism
from local businesses, the public and Rep. Rick Hill, R-Mont.,
forced park officials to ax the proposal. Instead, using
congressional money secured by Rep. Hill, the park and a citizens’
advisory board will create a separate plan for repairing the road.
The management plan also permanently bans personal watercraft on
park waters and calls for the closure of park skies to commercial
air tours.
For a copy of the General Management
Plan, write to Superintendent, GMP/EIS Project Glacier National
Park, West Glacier, MT 59936 (406/888-7898), or check out the Web
version at www.nps.gov/glac.
”
Ali Macalady
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Keeping Glacier Park intact.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
