Park studies wildlife view options for Many Glacier

Officials at Glacier National Park are seeking comments to help in an environmental assessment for the development of a wildlife viewing plan for the Many Glacier area.

A number of ideas are being considered, according to a news release from Glacier Park, including:

n New exhibits on wildlife viewing.

n Enlarging some pullouts and/or adding new ones in safer locations to view wildlife

n Reducing the size or removing pullouts altogether in known wildlife crossing areas or those pullouts that place visitors in close proximity to wildlife.

n Lowering speed limits along the entire road or portions of it.

n Constructing viewing platforms at pullouts and at the Swiftcurrent parking lot

n Providing ranger naturalists and spotting scopes at pullouts along the road.

Located in the northeast portion of the park, the Many Glacier area offers a variety of experiences for visitors including majestic landscapes, lakes and waterfalls, popular trails and outstanding wildlife viewing opportunities.

At Many Glacier, three valleys and several vegetation zones converge, forming a crossroads for many different wildlife species.

These valleys provide natural travel corridors for bighorn sheep, black and grizzly bears, mountain goats, wolves, wolverines and many other animals. Its highly productive habitats of riparian woodlands, sedge meadows and wetlands support many different species.

The Many Glacier Road bisects the travel corridors for these species in addition to providing visitor access to the area and outstanding opportunities to view wildlife.

Heavy visitor traffic, large bear jams and other safety concerns, combined with new knowledge and understanding about how wildlife travel through and within this region, has prompted the National Park Service to look for ways to protect wildlife while continuing to provide visitors with safe viewing opportunities in this corridor.

Human presence and activity that is too close to wildlife can disrupt feeding, caring for young and the animal's movement through an area.

Public comments are invited on Many Glacier planning.

Comments can be sent directly through the National Park Service planning Web site. Go to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/glac and select Wildlife Viewing Plan-Many Glacier.

Written comments can be mailed to Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attention: Wildlife Viewing Plan, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, Montana 59936.

Comments are due no later than Nov. 30.