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Glacier Park Officials Plan Ahead For Growing Tourist Numbers

A view from the Many Glacier webcam on Oct. 11, 2016 shows snow piling up in Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park
A view from the Many Glacier webcam on Oct. 11, 2016 shows snow piling up in Glacier National Park.

Summer is officially over, at least in Glacier National Park. The Going to the Sun Road closed today for the season. Nearly two feet of snow now covers several popular areas in the park, says spokesperson Tim Rains.

"It's about that time of the year. We had a great season," Rains says.

The park saw record-breaking visitation this summerextending well into the usual spring and fall "shoulder seasons." People continued streaming into the park this September, leading to 33 percent more visitors than last September. A total of 2.7 million people have visited the park so far this year, which has park officials thinking ahead.

"Glacier is becoming more than just a local's paradise," says Rains, "it's becoming a destination park."

Rains says park officials are starting to put together a few different potential plans to handle the park’s increasing number of visitors. Those could include more shuttle bus runs, a reservation system or even a cap on visitors.

"We're not going to take anything off the table … but before we do anything, we're going to get public input."

Those plans will be ready for public comment next spring.

Capping off the season today at the Columbia Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Meeting, the National Park Service presented a national award for environmental stewardship to Xanterra, the park’s concessionaire.

Since taking over concessions in the park two years ago, Xanterra has increased recycling and composting in the park, reduced waste by 22 percent and implemented bear resistant food containers.

Nicky is MTPR's Flathead-area reporter.
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