Glacier Park shatters previous visitation records, despite fires and closures

Apgar Village in Glacier National Park on Aug. 30, 2017. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon.

By Justin Franz, Flathead Beacon, October 2017

More than 3 million people have visited Glacier National Park in 2017 making it the busiest year in park history.

According to data released by the National Park Service on Tuesday, 3.3 million people had visited the park through September, a 12.9 percent increase during the same nine-month period in 2016. Last year, the park fell short of the 3 million mark by just 37,000 visitors.

Total visitation in Glacier Park was down in September compared to the same month last year due to the Sprague Fire, which closed a large swath of the west side of the park, including the popular Going-to-the-Sun Road.

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From Seed to Center

Story and photo by Greg Lindstrom, Flathead Beacon

The Center for Native Plants (CNP) in Whitefish features more than 120 native flowers, shrubs and trees, and Andrew Beltz has watched most of them grow from seeds collected around the valley. “I know where I picked the seed from,” said Beltz. “It’s got a story.”

The CNP is a branch of Forestoration, Inc., the parent company run by partners Greg Gunderson, David Noftsinger and Beltz. Through Forestoration, the group offers natural resource consulting and contracting, covering everything from wildfire and riparian restoration to trail building and design. But the promotion of native plants is always near the forefront of their projects.

“As the valley begins to develop, land is cleared, plants are lost, habitat is lost,” said Beltz. “By bringing some of that into your backyard you’re kind of helping preserve that. It helps create a sense of place.”

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OPEN ROAD: Episode Nineteen

Top of the Class

Watch Neil Chaput de Saintonge, inspired by Ansel Adams, snap shots of Montana’s greatest sights.

Kelley’s Market Trends: Third Quarter 2017 Report on the Flathead Real Estate Market

By JIM KELLEY

Interest rates are a key part of the market. Look through the graphs in Jim Kelley’s third quarter report.

To download the complete report…click here.