Parks should not be commercialized

We're pleased to see that national parks won't become new targets for corporate sponsorships and naming rights.

The National Park Service has dropped a proposal that would have allowed park employees to solicit donations, accept alcohol and tobacco company donations and even give donors the right to put their names on benches, bricks or rooms, according to The Associated Press.

Instead the parks will keep their existing system of fairly strict prohibitions on advertising and marketing in return for donations.

While donations are important to national parks - witness the largesse of Ford Motor Co. in revamping Glacier National Park's red buses plus the ongoing contributions to Glacier from The Glacier Fund and other local fundraising groups - that's no reason to open the door too wide for commercialization.

In keeping the ban on most ads in parks, the new guidelines help preserve the parks' integrity and mission.

A new wave in rescue craft may soon grace the waters of Whitefish Lake.

Generous Whitefish Lake residents Jim and Lisa Stack and Mike and Marie Shaw plan to donate a rescue hovercraft to the Whitefish Fire Department.

The hovercraft, which can move at speeds up to 60 mph, would be permanently stationed at City Beach. The aim is to reduce response time to water accidents - particularly in cold-water months - to as little as six minutes.

Those minutes can mean the difference between life and death on the lake.

With the City Council and the family of a woman who died in a lake accident pitching in to help fund a building for the hovercraft, the only hurdle that's left for the project is Park Board approval.

This is a creative public-service effort that has the potential to be a literal life-saver on the lake.

Spring is here and summer isn't far away - which means it's the season to be mindful of dangerous roadways.

As traffic increases toward its usual summer fever pitch, it's wise to remember to be cautious on Western Montana streets and highways.

The sheer number of vehicles out there - a function of both increased population and visitors - deserves special consideration when you're driving our roads.

If you need a graphic reminder, consider that five people have died in vehicle crashes in just the past two weeks in Flathead County.

Be careful out there.