Glacier Centennial projects include Heaven's Peak Lookout

Glacier National Park is looking at several on-the-ground projects to celebrate its 100th anniversary, including restoration of the remote Heaven's Peak Lookout.

As such it has developed a "legacy project" list in collaboration with the Glacier National Park Fund. The Fund is the non-profit fundraising arm of the Park and is in the process of raising funds for about $300,000 for the projects.

The idea is to have at least some of the projects either under construction or completed by the Park's 100th birthday on May 11, 2010, but it needs public support.

The list of projects, in order of priority includes:

• Increase the number of fully accessible trails in Glacier. Right now the Park is eyeing upgrades to existing trails in the Many Glacier Valley so folks can go from the Many Glacier Hotel to the trails themselves. Right now there are two locations in mind — a section adjacent to the Many Glacier Hotel granting access to the existing Swiftcurrent Lake trail and a segment of trail through the aspen trees to Swiftcurrent Creek from the Grinnell Glacier trailhead and picnic area. Glacier currently has wheelchair-accessible trails in Two Medicine and the Trail of the Cedars at Avalanche Lake.

• Construct a "watchable wildlife" platform at Many Glacier. Right now Many Glacier has problems with traffic jams caused by wildlife viewers. The idea is to get people off the road and onto a viewing platform that is both safe for people and for wildlife. The platform would be wheelchair accessible.

• Preserve the Heaven's Peak Fire Lookout. Built in 1945 by conscientious objectors, the Park hosted a Civilian Public Service Camp. Their most enduring legacy was construction of the Heaven's Peak lookout on the north shoulder of Heaven's Peak. The trail to the lookout has since washed away or been destroyed by wildfire, but the lookout, with its fantastic stonework, still stands. Survivors of the families that built the lookout have also offered their services to help stabilize the structure. The work needs to be completed soon, or the wood structure will likely be lost.

• Develop "People in Glacier" education materials. The project would include curriculum for teachers, interpretive ranger led programs, online activities and interactive galleries featuring artifact photos, educational traveling trunks and special outreach programs for local students during the 2010 school year. These human history lessons would highlight stories, photos, diaries, etc. about people in Glacier including Blackfeet, Salish/Kootenai, Prospectors, Homesteaders, Trappers, Businessmen, Tourists and Park Rangers in an effort to educate the public about the diverse cultural groups that have shaped this area.

• Restore dark skies in the Park. When the lights are out, Glacier is a great place to see starry skies. This project would retrofit artificial lights in Glacier to limit the impacts of the lights on Glacier's starscape.

• Continue the High Country Citizens Science Program in Glacier. The program, with more than 80 volunteers, is currently underway with an effort to document mountain goats, pikas and Clark's nutcrackers in Glacier. The idea is to get a baseline population estimate of goats and to establish the range of pikas and Clark's nutcrackers in Glacier. All three species could be harmed by global warming.

For more information on the projects or to support the effort, call the Fund at (406) 892-3520 or got to their Web site at http://www.glacierfund.org.

Each project will be completed as it is funded, said Jane Ratzlaff, executive Director of the Glacier Park Fund.