Glacier in line for funding
Glacier National Park is an economic engine that deserves overdue maintenance, a group of park advocates told Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in Whitefish on Friday.
And Tester told the gathering that Glacier's in line to get some.
The National Park Service this week announced a list of 201 certified "Centennial Challenge" projects for 2008, a list that includes four projects for Glacier worth $6.45 million. The Centennial Challenge is a nationwide initiative aimed at restoring national parks' infrastructure and services by the service's 100th year in 2016.
Those projects, Tester said, "are a step in the right direction for Glacier and definitely a right step for the centennial."
The Glacier projects include funding to prepare for Glacier's Centennial in 2010, a volunteer stewardship training program, a cooperative ecosystem management program with Alberta and British Columbia, and $5 million to build environmental education and employee dorm facilities in the Lake McDonald Lodge area.
The nationwide list is worth $370 million, with $215 million expected to come in matching funds from park partner organizations. The Lake McDonald facility improvements, for example, is being pursued in cooperation with Glacier Park Inc., the park's largest concessions contractor.
But a big chunk of money for centennial projects must come from Congress. So far this year, the House has approved a bill with $50 million in funding for Centennial Challenge projects, while the Senate's version of the bill contains no money for the projects so far.
"The good news is that bill hasn't hit the Senate floor yet, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make some changes," said Tester, who sits on a Senate subcommittee on national parks.
The meeting, organized by the National Parks Conservation Association, included a panel of park advocates representing local business, government and tourism interests.
Nearly every panelist remarked about Glacier's sheer economic drawing power in surrounding communities, Montana and the broader region.
"Economic growth is integrally tied to places like Glacier," said Rhonda Fitzgerald of the Montana Tourism Advisory Counsel.
Fitzgerald noted that non-resident visitors spent an estimated $315 million in the Flathead Valley alone last year, and a good share of those visitors were on their way to or from Glacier Park.
A study conducted in 1998 found that when the park's Going-to-the-Sun Road is open, it directly generates $1 million per day, Fitzgerald said.
Using information provided by Glacier Park, the National Parks Conservation Association asserts that the park's maintenance backlog is roughly $280 million and growing. The park's operations are annually underfunded by about $7 million, a problem that several panelists referred to.
Cris Coughlin, the interim mayor of Whitefish and a co-owner of Glacier Guides and Montana Raft Co., said what Glacier needs is adequate staffing, interpretive rangers who provide an invaluable service to visitors.
State Rep. Doug Cordier, D-Columbia Falls, recalled the National Park Service's last infrastructure infusion, called Mission 66, on the service's 50th anniversary.
That initiative, he said, made a noticeable difference in Glacier.
"I think it is an economic driver for this region," Tester said in an interview after the meeting. "And I think you've got a resource there and you have to have maintenance if your are going to keep that resource going."
Tester said he was surprised that the Senate Appropriations Committee did not include funding for centennial projects in the bill that should have it.
"My guess what will happen is … I'm sure there will be an amendment offered on the floor" to include funding, he said. "If it isn't offered on the floor, it will be taken up in Conference Committee because the House version includes that $50 million."
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at jmann@dailyinterlake.com