Public comment sought on Sun Road study
Meetings next week will launch the public scoping process for a long-term study of the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in Glacier National Park.
The multi-year planning effort will address transportation, visitor use and resource management along Sun Road. Several public meetings are scheduled in and around the park this summer to solicit ideas, concerns and impressions about future management of the road corridor.
Going-to-the-Sun Road covers 50 miles through the heart of the park; the corridor area includes all trails and pullouts that can be reached from the road. This area experiences a high concentration of visitor use, particularly from the end of June to mid-August. The corridor also contains tremendous biological diversity and valued cultural resources.
Popular trails along Sun Road, such as Avalanche Lake Trail, have had an increase in use by as much as 250 percent in the last 25 years. These increases are resulting in significant congestion and impacts on vegetation and wildlife.
Additionally, a recent financial analysis indicates the park’s shuttle system, launched in 2007 to reduce construction delays during road rehabilitation, is not financially sustainable given the future need to replace buses.
Using input from the public and ongoing wildlife and social science research, park managers aim to develop a range of management alternatives. The plan will use adaptive management strategies to provide outstanding recreation and education opportunities for visitors while ensuring protection of the park’s natural and cultural resources.
Public open houses to discuss planning efforts with surrounding communities and visitors will be held from June through August in various locations.
The following public open houses will be from 4 to 7 p.m. next week:
v Monday, June 24, Kalispell
Flathead National Forest Supervisor’s Office, 650 Wolfpack Way
v Tuesday, June 25, Missoula
Ruby’s Inn and Convention Center, 4825 N. Reserve Street
v Wednesday, June 26, Great Falls
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, 4201 Giant Springs Road
v Thursday, June 27, Waterton, Alberta
Bayshore Inn Resort and Spa, 111 Waterton Ave.
Conversations with visitors will be hosted throughout the park on July 19 and Aug. 9.
For additional information about the open houses and planning efforts, view the park’s scoping newsletter available at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=47660 or contact the park at 406-888-7800.
This is the first phase of the planning effort; additional public comments will be solicited as alternatives are developed. A decision on the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement is anticipated by 2016. Road rehabilitation is projected to be finished by 2017.
Public comments may be submitted online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/glac or by mail to: Glacier National Park, Attn: GTSR Corridor Plan, P.O. Box 128, West Glacier, MT 59936. Public scoping comments are due by Sept. 6.