Stop the land grab

Alarm bells went off all over the country in 2005 when the U.S. Supreme Court said Connecticut’s “eminent domain” law allowed city officials to jerk property out from under homeowners and turn it over to big-time developers.

Why the land grab? The city could collect more taxes from big biz than from mere homeowners. And guess what? Montana eminent domain laws allowed the same kind of shenanigan.

But some of our legislators and our Governor were on the case:

Senator Christine Kauffman put together a bill to stop urban renewal projects from taking land through eminent domain if the purpose of the project is to increase government tax revenue. Bravo!

Representative Jim Elliott’s bill said that cities and towns can’t condemn property through eminent domain powers unless the property is going to legitimate public use - not just to enrich some private outfit that will kick in more taxes. Good job!

Governor Schweitzer signed these bills into law. Excellent!

Thanks are due to Kauffman and Elliott and their co-sponsors for these bills. And thanks are due to Governor Schweitzer for making them the law of the land.

In some quarters, the 2007 Legislature got a bad rap (and used some bad language), but let’s not ignore their accomplishments. Our home is our castle, as the saying goes, and Kauffman, Elliott and Schweitzer just helped fill the moat.

Bill Rossiter

Transit system a success

On behalf of the more than 325,000 members of the National Parks Conservation Association and the two million visitors who travel to Glacier National Park each year, I would like to offer a heartfelt congratulations to Glacier Park Superintendent Mick Holm and his staff for the successful launch of the new Going-to-the-Sun Road transit system.

This Independence Day I took an expedition to Glacier to experience the new shuttle system firsthand. The new transit center is a beautifully constructed building with a wealth of information about the myriad of recreational and educational opportunities found within Glacier Park. The volunteers providing assistance to first time users were polite and knowledgeable. The shuttle buses are comfortable, air-conditioned and the large windows provide excellent views of Glacier’s majestic peaks. To top it off, the shuttles can run on bio-diesel, which is good for our environment and Montana agriculture.

The new transit system greatly expands opportunities for hiking; for example, if you want to hike from Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet, you no longer need to return to Logan Pass via the Hi-line Trail, just take the Loop Trail and catch the next shuttle bus back down to Apgar.

Not only does the new shuttle system enhance the visitor experience; it will help ensure that the multi-year reconstruction of Going-to-the-Sun Road is a smooth process. It is also important to recognize the years of hard work by Senator Baucus to secure the initial $50 million of federal highway dollars for Going-to-the-Sun Road reconstruction, as a portion of these funds were used to pay the system’s start-up costs.

Glacier National Park’s new transit system is a model for all of our National Parks. As Americans and Montanans we can all be very proud of Glacier National Park and the National Park Service for the vision and cooperative efforts that have resulted in this emerging story of success.

Will Hammerquist

Glacier Program Manager

National Parks Conservation Association