One more weekend on the 'Sun'

Inter Lake editorial

If you haven't yet made the full west-to-east trip over Glacier Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road, time is running out for this season.

Starting Monday, Logan Pass will be accessible only from one direction to allow for construction work as part of the massive rehabilitation project on the historic alpine highway.

That means this weekend is the last opportunity of the year for travelers to cruise the full length of Sun Road.

The west-side path to the pass will be closed through Sept. 22 due to major paving projects. After that date - and until winter weather intervenes - people will be able to drive as far as Logan Pass only from the west side.

East-side access will be closed for the year at Jackson Glacier Overlook as of Sept. 22.

The early limits on driving Sun Road may seem inconvenient, but the patience of park visitors eventually will be paid off with a revamped road.

The scenic park highway was busy last month: Recently released visitation numbers reveal a whopping 17-percent increase in Glacier Park visitors in August compared to the same month a year ago.

The surge helped to make up for visitor declines during June and July.

Year-to-date figures show that 1,672,942 people visited Glacier through the end of August. That's a mere 4,429 fewer visitors than a year ago - testament to the drawing power of a stunning national park in spite of record-high fuel prices.

Welcome to the Montana Wood Products Association, which meets in Kalispell today for its 36th annual convention.

Timber-related industries have taken a huge hit in recent years for a number of cultural and economic reasons, but it's important to note that the theme of this convention is the "Challenges AND Opportunities" the future holds for the wood-products industry.

Certainly, Montanans understand the value of mills and value-added manufacturing to the economic base of our state. In the past, timber was king in Western Montana, just like cotton was king in the south. But times have changed, and new, inventive approaches are the norm, not the exception.

One thing that may help the timber industry is the increasing cost of importing manufactured goods from abroad. Higher transportation costs are making manufacturers think twice about going offshore. That certainly provides a big opportunity, and could result in improved output for the Montana wood industry in the coming years.