Zinke targets Glacier National Park ticketed entry system with legislation

U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke’s latest attempt to roll back the vehicle reservation system in Glacier National Park is coming in the form of legislation.

Zinke, who has raised concerns about the reservation system potentially hindering area residents’ access to the park since spring of this year, has added an amendment to the fiscal year 2024 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies funding bill removing the system. It could advance to a vote on the House Floor in September, according to a release from his office.

Zinke has met with Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer several times to find alternatives to “balance public access to the park experience with park preservation by implementing trail density technology systems, public transportation and pulling back time of day restrictions for locals without a vehicle reservation,” according to the release. Zinke said that by “locals,” he means anyone in the region or in Montana who enjoyed better access to the park before the reservation system took effect.

In an interview with the Daily Inter Lake, the congressman said he believes the pilot reservation program went “too far and too fast.” He is particularly opposed to the park requiring reservations on its east side.

“I sat down with the Park Service, I sat down with the superintendent … I understand the difficulties of the number of people … but the park system was set up for the benefit and enjoyment of the people,” Zinke said.

How would Zinke curb overcrowding should his amendment pass? The congressman said the experience of driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road could be improved, since it’s the park’s main attraction. Zinke repeatedly points to creating a better transit system to alleviate crowding on the road. The park already operates a fleet of shuttle buses that run the Sun Road daily, but seats can fill up quickly.

Zinke has previously said he prefers a public transportation experience that is similar to what visitors get when they book one of Glacier’s historic red bus tours. He said on Friday that “most folks would gladly pay $10 for a tour, if you don't have a reservation, hop on the bus.”

Zinke also has expressed skepticism about contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, which runs recreation.gov, the website facilitating Glacier’s reservation system and countless other recreation-related opportunities for the federal government. He pointed to an April article from the Wall Street Journal that examined how much it costs the government for Booz Allen Hamilton to run the site.

“The larger issue is this: the government has spent $140 million plus on a reservation system. Quite frankly, that $140 million dollars could have easily been moved to form a transportation system that works in the park,” Zinke said, referring to the amount of money Booz Allen Hamilton invoiced the government between October 2018 and November 2022.

For Glacier, the congressman said he intends to find better solutions than the current reservation system.

“We need something cool and something that enriches the park,” Zinke said.

According to travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler, eight U.S. national parks required some kind of reservation this year on top of normal admittance requirements. The list included popular parks like Zion National Park as well as those that enacted reservation systems for special periods, like Yosemite National Park, which requires reservations in February for the Horsetail Fall “Firefall” phenomenon.

Glacier National Park officials did not respond to requests for comment before press time. In a March letter obtained by the Daily Inter Lake via a public records request, Roemer defended the park’s reservation system in a letter addressed to Great Falls International Airport Director John Faulkner. He argued that the system freed park officials from closing areas due to lack of parking and overcrowding. He gave as an example the North Fork area of the park, which had 87 unplanned closures in 2021 due to the high amount of visitors.

Roemer said in the letter the reservation system can be more complicated than simply showing up and paying admittance, but that it’s “a trade-off against an unmanaged system where visitors may arrive to find overcrowded park roads and parking, or possibly find a temporary closure due to unsafe congestion.”

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com. Kate Heston can be reached at kheston@dailyinterlake.com.