New tower proposed at St. Mary in Glacier Park

Glacier National Park is seeking public comment on a proposal from CenturyLink to install a new telecommunications tower in the St. Mary administrative area inside the park’s boundaries.

An environmental assessment financed by CenturyLink is being conducted and comments on the matter should be submitted by Feb. 3.

The tower would serve the greater St. Mary area and is part of a statewide initiative through the Montana Public Service Commission to upgrade telecommunications facilities in rural areas.

Telecommunications capacity in the St. Mary area, both inside and outside the park, currently is inadequate to support resident, visitor and government Internet demands.

The new tower would upgrade the area’s capacity to a modern standard and improve the reliability and speed of Internet access. The National Park Service’s existing 50-foot radio tower in the area would be removed and replaced with a new, 80-foot tall microwave antenna and radio support structure.

The new tower would be constructed of steel lattice supported on a concrete footing, and would include a 6-foot diameter dish for CenturyLink and up to three National Park Service antennas.

The new structure would be located next to the existing park telecommunications building in the St. Mary administrative area and the microwave feed wiring would be connected to the existing CenturyLink equipment building.

The new structure would be designed to provide a direct line of sight to the CenturyLink Divide Mountain transfer station.

Comments on the proposal should be submitted by Feb. 3 and can be posted online at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/glac or they can be mailed to: Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attn: St. Mary Microwave Tower Proposal, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, MT 59936.