GLACIER-WATERTON LAKES INTERNATIONAL PEACE
PARK
More than 700 miles of trails wind through
the primeval forests, alpine meadows, peaks and glacial valleys of
Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. Glacier is one of
the most beautiful parks in North America and is also the world's first
international peace park. Canada and the US cooperatively administer
Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. For wildlife, this
means an
unbroken ecosystem between the two parks, and the peace park is now
recognized as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
MAMMALS
Glacier's
forests, mountains, glacial
valleys and alpine lakes support over sixty species of mammals.
Grizzly bears still roam here, and gray wolves returned in 1985.
Other mammals include mountain goat, moose, black bear, bighorn sheep,
elk, mule and white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk, lynx, wolverine,
bobcat and mountain lion. Smaller mammals
include the northern bog lemming, golden-mantled ground squirrel, snowshoe hare, river otter,
long-tailed weasel and
red-baked vole. Rarely seen are the park's martens, fishers
and wolverines.
BIRDS
Glacier's bird list tops 260
species. Watch for raptors including both bald and golden eagles,
northern goshawks, peregrine falcons, northern harriers, red-tailed
hawks,
Swainson's hawks, American kestrels and ospreys. You may also
hear great gray owls and
short-eared, boreal and northern saw-whet owls calling.
Winter visitors include snowy owls and gyrfalcons.
In Glacier's lakes, check for common
loons, American bitterns, harlequin ducks, eared grebes,
common mergansers and blue-winged teal.
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In
forests, watch for
spruce, blue and ruffed grouse and numerous species of
woodpeckers. Lovely mountain and western bluebirds and western
tanagers are also park visitors.
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WHERE TO SEE WILDLIFE
On the Hidden Lake Trail at Logan Pass
watch for mountain goats, marmots, ptarmigan and even the occasional
grizzly. If you want to feel what it's like to be a
mountain goat, try hiking the steep Highline Trail to the Granite Park
Chalet. You're likely to see both mountain goats and bighorn
sheep.
Mountain goats are also drawn to the Goat Lick
Overlook, and you can sometimes see other herbivores - deer and elk -
at this spot as well. In the autumn, watch for rutting elk in the
vicinity of St. Mary's Lake.
BEST TIME TO VISIT
Late May through October. But Going to the
Sun Road is likely to be closed by snow from early autumn until mid
June, so you'll need to trade in your car for a pair of snowshoes or
skis to
wander very
far into the park during the winter months.
CHALLENGES FACING GLACIER NP
The glaciers at Glacier National Park are
disappearing. Using computer models, scientists at USGS forecast
that if temperatures continue to rise as predicted, all glaciers in the
park will melt by 2030. Even if temperatures remain steady, the
park is likely to be glacier free by 2100. This creates a
challenge for wildlife: as glaciers melt, stream flows and watershed
temperatures change, altering the
environment that wildlife have adapted to.
DIRECTIONS
The
west entrance to Glacier is approximately 35 miles north of Kalispell,
Montana on Highway 2.
LINKS
NPS -
Official
Park Website
Lodging
at
Glacier NP
Campgrounds
at Glacier NP
Bird
List
for Glacier NP
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