Capitalizing on Glacier Park visitors

Economic development in the Flathead Valley seems to be more of a topic of discussion all the time, at least in my opinion during my first seven months living here.

During Tuesday morning's Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce monthly economic development meeting, discussion centered around visitation to Glacier National Park. Many people don't realize just what an impact that Park travelers have on our economy. There is no question the local economy could be further bolstered by visitors to one of nature's best wonderlands.

Dee Brown of Canyon RV and Campground said at the meeting that she met with Chris Tesar of GNP last month to discuss visitation numbers, always a topic of interest. Brown said that GNP counts visitors to the Park by assigning a "number of people per axle or per RV," and this doesn't distinguish between local and out-of-area travelers. Evaluation is based on a 22-year-old study, done in 1985, according to Brown. There is no question that a new study is needed, and Brown said GNP is seeking funds for it.

If there is a way to separate local visitors from those who are from out of the area, that would be a more justified assessment of GNP visitation. Brown said that in the current study being used, a multiplier of 2.9 persons per vehicle is used in determining visitation. Updated surveys in other parks use a multiplier of 2.2 or 2.3. Brown said there are statistics on recreational user and non-recreational user visits to GNP.

The visitation numbers could very well be skewed by the way they are derived, based on the study being used.

Brown provided data showing that there was a 160 percent increase in park visitation in the month of March 2007 compared to the same month in 2006. But perhaps cabin fever got the best of more people last year than the year before, and many more of them drove into the Park.

Paving of the North Fork Road, an ongoing controversial topic, could provide another loop into the Park. But where would the money come from to do it? It's just not there.

The trend appears to be a larger percentage of retired people, primarily couples, visiting Glacier.

Common sense tells you that people coming through Columbia Falls on their way to GNP inject money into the local economy. The same goes for travelers coming out of the Park and going through town.

Brown shared a Web site with data on park visitation. It is www2.nature.nps.gov/mpur/index.cfm.

On the same theme, there was discussion about First Best Place Task Force activities in Columbia Falls. The task force is working toward purchase of the former First Citizens Bank building uptown on Nucleus Avenue. The focus is to make part of the building a GNP interpretive center, with kiosks for information about what you'll see in the Park and how to tour the wonderland.

Chamber President Lyle Mitchell of State Farm said the center could include archives and artifacts held by the GNP Foundation and collecting dust rather than being displayed. He said the education component is very important.

Joe Carbonari of Rocky Mountain Images said people want to see animals (the preserved variety) at such a center, and find out where to fish and where to hike in Glacier.

Patrick McCracken of Edward Jones Investments likes the idea of an interpretive center, but said there should be a Park ranger staffed there to provide information and answer questions.

Also a possibility is relocation of the library to the building. But the library inhabits the former city hall building — with no rental costs.

According to Mitchell, another idea is for the City of Columbia Falls to own the building and lease space to subsidize the cost.

A rolling stone gathers no moss, they say, and the development of an interpretive center in Columbia Falls would likely invigorate uptown, with new businesses opening to take advantage of Park travelers. It could also spark more interest in shopping locally. It appears Columbia Falls is becoming the "antique hub" of the Flathead, with several existing stores and another opening soon on Highway 2.

In other economic development news, Don Bennett of Freedom Bank said there is the possibility that the industrial park could be purchased by a local developer rather than by Mountain West Economic Development. If someone doesn't "lock in" on the industrial park, it leaves the door open for other parties.

According to Bennett, a German flooring company has given serious consideration to locating an operation in Columbia Falls, specifically at the industrial park. It appears to be between the local site or a location in Canada. If you're wanting to create more jobs for local people, a new large operation like the flooring company is a great way to do it.

Joe Sova is managing editor of the Hungry Horse News.