Park still faces many challenges

After four years at the helm of Glacier National Park, Superintendent Chas Cartwright is parting with some enlightening reflections on the challenges the park faces in the future.

A 25-year veteran of the National Park Service, Cartwright is retiring with concerns over issues that probably will be around for more than one of his successors to deal with.

It was somewhat of a surprise to hear Cartwright tell the Inter Lake editorial board that he believes the park is approaching its “carrying capacity” for visitors, particularly in the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor. But on second thought, his remarks about overflowing traffic congestion and parking jams at Logan Pass and Avalanche seem to hit the mark.

It’s not as simple as building larger parking lots in Glacier Park. Visitor impacts on trails and other resources surrounding the Sun Road corridor eventually would take their toll, especially with bigger parking lots.

We had great hopes that the park’s shuttle system would reduce vehicle traffic, but Cartwright says it has reduced private vehicle use on the road by only 1 percent, even though the shuttles are highly popular. The problem is the shuttles do not provide enough service, and Cartwright says it is an expensive system that will need more money to maintain and operate, much less expand.

Problems indeed.

Oil and gas development on the Blackfeet Reservation east of the park have the potential to expose the park to more external threats, but the Blackfeet are a sovereign nation and have the justified ability to pursue sorely needed economic development. One can just hope that Glacier’s eastern front is insulated from impacts that can add up quickly if an oil boom environment takes hold.

Cartwright reminds us that the Blackfeet as recently as the summer of 2011 passed a resolution calling for tribal management not only for Glacier’s east side but the entire park. Cartwright and the National Park Service rejected the idea and future superintendents may find themselves facing similar situations.

What Cartwright regards as the park’s biggest threat may seem to be the smallest by many: Tiny invasive aquatic mussels that have infested waters throughout the West but have yet to establish themselves in the Flathead Basin.

Because they are not yet present and because they may seem insignificant are big reasons why Cartwright regards them as the park’s biggest threat.

Affordable prevention through watercraft inspections and public education is the best management alternative, compared to the immense economic impacts these species can cause once they’ve proliferated.

Good luck to Cartwright in retirement. His parting words should be heeded by the public and future park managers.