The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council voted Wednesday to reopen roads to and from the east gates of Glacier National Park. The move to reopen roads on the Blackfeet reservation leading to the bordering Glacier National Park comes after a full year of pandemic-related closures.
The reopening is good news to local businesses owners that have struggled during the shutdown like Angelika Harden-Norman, owner of the Lodgepole Art Gallery outside of Browning.
"I think everybody will breath, just 'ahh,' you know, that’s really good news."
Glacier National Park officials say the east gates will open Thursday to foot traffic, skis and snowshoes but remain under typical winter closures for vehicles.
Last year, tribal leaders closed the roads in conjunction with park officials closing Glacier’s east gates in an effort to limit crowds and protect residents on the Blackfeet reservation from the coronavirus. According to the Blackfeet COVID-19 Incident Command, 95 percent of eligible residents on the reservation are vaccinated.
