A 'super' job with big demands

Inter Lake editorial

Glacier National Park's new superintendent, Chas Cartwright, certainly seems like a person with ample energy, and he will need it to see the park through some major ongoing challlenges.

Cartwright hit the ground running in June, impressively making a point of getting out on hikes in the park as much as possible and meeting with folks who know the park best. Tapping into those resources is a wise and fast way for Cartwright to absorb Glacier's management issues, history, politics and the park itself.

And it has paid off - Cartwright is already considerably fluent in all of the above, able to discuss in detail such matters as how the park's long-term management plan relates to commercial helicopter sight-seeing.

But Cartwright says he intends to concentrate on the "meat-and-potatoes" task of optimizing park maintenance, operations and staffing with limited funding. That is no small matter, considering that Glacier, like many parks, has long struggled with maintenance backlogs and funding shortfalls in certain areas.

Of course, there will be the ongoing task of securing funding for the long-term Going-to-the-Sun Road reconstruction project. For nearly a decade already, Glacier superintendents have had to work closely with the Federal Highway Administration and Montana's congressional delegation to get adequate funding for the work that's been done. The project is expected to continue for eight to 10 more years at a cost of $150 million to $170 million. Those projections are dependent on obtaining adequate funding, otherwise the project could be drawn out even longer at a greater cost.

Also on Cartwright's agenda is the persistent threat of coal and coalbed methane development in the Canadian Flathead River Basin, which flows directly into Montana's North Flathead River on Glacier's western boundary.

Cartwright brings a wealth of experience to Glacier - 36 years of federal service, including 21 years in the National Park Service - and it will be needed to steer the park through the coming years.

Glacier's last superintendent, Mick Holm, managed the park for nearly six years. With Cartwright, it would be good to see additional continuity and longevity in park management.