Fund donates $182,190 for park projects

Donations from The Glacier Fund will pay for 10 projects in Glacier National Park next year.

New grants from The Glacier Fund total $182,190, raising the fund's total support to Glacier to more than $1.2 million since the fund was set up in 1999.

Additional projects also will be considered for funding by The Glacier Fund at its March 2006 trustee meeting.

The ten projects funded for 2006 include:

-Bear management equipment: Providing a trailer for a bear trap and additional equipment.

-Bighorn sheep study: The final year of a five-year project to monitor bighorn sheep.

-Big Bend Trail consolidation: Revegetating trails and creating one access point to diminish damage.

-Campground kiosks: Continue replacing old message/information boards in campgrounds.

-Citizen science: Providing expanded loon monitoring by volunteers.

-Discover Glacier: Continuing the education program an additional six months.

-Fire ecology trail: Creating an educational trail near Fish Creek.

-Education cabin: Insulating the cabin to allow extended use of the cabin at Apgar.

-Lake McDonald trails: Rehabilitating three sections of trails in the Lake McDonald Lodge area.

-Sign support: Providing an improved work and production area for the sign maker.

"We are grateful to The Glacier Fund for their continued support of projects here in the park," Glacier Superintendent Mick Holm said in a news release. "Glacier alone does not always have the means to fund all desired projects, but thanks to The Glacier Fund's contributions, projects which may not have otherwise been possible will proceed, benefiting both the visitor and the resource."

Past grants from The Glacier Fund have helped pay for building and repairing boardwalks at Lake McDonald Creek and in the backcountry, installation of self-help kiosks at the Apgar Visitor Center, rehabilitating highly impacted hiking trails, and studying wolverine ecology in the park.

The Glacier Fund is a nonprofit park partner associated with the National Parks Foundation.

The fund raises money through sales of the distinctive Glacier Park license plates, annual contributions and major gifts.

The mission of The Glacier Fund is to support "the preservation of the outstanding natural beauty and cultural heritage of Glacier National Park for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations by fostering public awareness and encouraging private philanthropy."

For more information, visit www.glacierfund.org or call 406-888-7910 or 406-862-6110.