Cartwright to retire from Glacier Park

Glacier National Park superintendent Chas Cartwright has announced his retirement. Cartwright took the helm of the 1-million-acre-plus Park in May 2008.

Since then he’s overseen the tricky reconstruction of the Going-to-the-Sun Road’s alpine section, advocated for wilderness designation for much of the Park and, unlike many of his predecessors, hiked many of the Park’s trails.

Cartwright, 62, was the superintendent of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia prior to coming here. He grew up in Detroit, Mich., and first came west as an anthropology student at Michigan State University.

Cartwright replaced Mick Holm, who was at the Park’s helm for 5 1/2 years before retiring in 2008.

Under Cartwright, the most difficult sections of the Sun Road were reconstructed with a minimal impact to the Park and the tourist season. Since the 1990s, more than $130 million has been spent on the Sun Road reconstruction.

But his tenure was not without some controversy. Cartwright advocated that most of Glacier Park become designated wilderness. The idea failed to gain any political traction, even among Democrats.

In turn, he ran afoul with wilderness advocates when he actively supported the stabilization of the Heavens Peak Lookout. Work on the lookout started last summer, but wilderness groups objected to the project because the lookout has no trail to it and the work required several helicopter to flights to shuttle materials to the remote flank of Heavens Peak. Cartwright said preserving history was just as important as protecting wilderness.

His replacement will likely see several Park projects come to an end. The Sun Road reconstruction should wrap up by 2016, and the Park also has plans to transform the Transit Center near the west entrance into a visitor center.

Finding a replacement generally takes several months, and the National Park Service usually names an interim superintendent during the search. Cartwright will reportedly step down at the end of December.