Glacier expects east side opening this summer

Glacier National Park, the Blackfeet Tribe and the state are planning to have the east side of the Park reopened by this summer’s tourist season.

The east side has been closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last March.

In an interview on Monday, Glacier superintendent Jeff Mow said the Park Service will work with a team of tribal and state health officials and elected leaders to craft a plan for reopening.

A timeline, at this point, has not been set.

Mow met with the Blackfeet last week via videoconference. Tribal officials said during the meeting they hope to have 75% of the Blackfeet population vaccinated by this summer.

Right now the tribe is well ahead of the rest of the state of Montana, with about a third of the population of just under 10,000 receiving at least their first dose of vaccine as of Tuesday morning.

Glacier put a host of mitigation measures in place last year that kept its staff from getting the virus. Mow said not one case could be traced back to contact with visitors.

But that meant many programs, like guided hikes and public talks like the Native American speaks series, were canceled.

In addition, most campgrounds were closed as was the park’s free shuttle service.

This year the plan is to have the shuttle service at 50% capacity, which will allow for social distancing. President Joe Biden has also instituted a mask mandate for people who are inside a building or cannot social distance outside, which means that some popular trails will at least see signage encouraging people to wear masks.

This season, Mow said the expectation is that more campgrounds will be open, but not all of them.

“We don’t anticipate that every campground will be open to 2019 levels,” he said.

Right now, Fish, Apgar and Many Glacier campgrounds will be open, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Employee housing will continue to be a problem, as the Park will adhere to a one bedroom, one person arrangement for park employee housing.

But outside the park, if they can find it, employees can have roommates.

Mow noted that federal law prohibits the park from asking employees if they’ve been vaccinated, which could allow for roommates.

Complicating matters will be road construction. The Many Glacier Road, the Camas Road and Highway 2 from the Canyon to Essex will see work in the summer.

The park plans on working with the state to use the roadside signs to warn visitors of delays and park staff will also have a presence at some locations, Mow said.

Last year traffic backed up for miles over Labor Day weekend because the west side of the park was at capacity and couldn’t take more visitors.

The Camas Road will also see work and the ongoing work on the Many Glacier Road isn’t scheduled for completion until the fall.

With travel to foreign countries out of the mix, Mow expects national parks to be just as busy as ever, and that most certainly includes Glacier.