Glacier holds community discussion
Vehicles travel by the Weeping Wall along Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. (Matt Baldwin/Daily Inter Lake file)
Glacier National Park will hold a virtual community discussion on Thursday, March 18, regarding challenges the park and visitors will face in the upcoming 2021 season.
Park Superintendent Jeff Mow will provide an overview on topics, such as the proposed ticketed entry system, park visitation numbers, COVID-19 mitigations, and challenges with seasonal housing.
Glacier National Park could institute a ticketed entry system for the Going-to-the-Sun Road this summer, Superintendent Jeff Mow said recently during a North Fork Interlocal meeting.
The details of the plan aren’t set in stone and the Park still plans on speaking to area businesses before the tourist season gets in full swing. But Park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said after the meeting that they expect a final decision by the end of the month.
On a peak day, the Sun Road will see more than 5,000 vehicles. Last summer, if the Sun Road saw 1,800 cars by 11 a.m. Glacier staff ended up having to institute closures as nearly every turnout and parking lot along its 52-mile length would fill.
Without ticketed entry, Mow projected the park would likely shut down the west entrance about 25 times this season.
Sponsored by the Glacier National Park Conservancy, the virtual meeting will be held over Zoom from 7 to 8 p.m.
Members of the public are welcome to attend and can register online on the Glacier National Park Conservancy website www.glacier.org. During the registration process, participants will have the option to submit topics for discussion.