Wayward sheep shows up in Canyon

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

Folks driving in and around the Bad Rock Canyon likely saw an unusual sight this week — a bighorn sheep.

The sheep — at least one — has been spotted in the canyon as well as along Mountain View Drive and Berne Road.

Artist Sheryl Bodily has lived on Berne Road for 46 years.

"It's the first time I've seen them in that area," Bodily said. He snapped some photos of it Monday and it was still in the area Tuesday.

Monday night it was in horse pastures along the mountain and Tuesday morning, oblivious to traffic whizzing by, it stood along U.S. Highway 2, licking salt from the edge of the road.

The sheep sighting is very unusual, noted Jim Williams, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region One Wildlife manager.

Williams said bighorn sheep have been transplanted on both Teakettle and Columbia Mountains in the past — but that was decades ago and none of those sheep established populations or even survived.

This sheep, a ewe, traveled quite a long ways to get where it is right now.

There are known bighorn sheep herds at Logan Pass in Glacier National Park, at 10 Lakes in the far northern Whitefish Range, there's a herd in the Sun River in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and there's a herd at Wildhorse Island, Williams said.

Williams said all those locations are about an equal distance away. Logan Pass, for example, is at least 70 miles away as the crow flies. The Sun River Country is at least that far as well. FWP has not transplanted any sheep to the area.

Columbia Mountain isn't really great sheep habitat. Bighorns prefer more open country, with fewer trees and cliffs where they can escape predators. Teakettle, particularly the east side, would be more suitable.

Why the bighorn traveled here or what prompted it to move is a mystery. But folks should lower speeds when going through the Canyon — they just might get a glimpse of a wayward sheep.

Glacier Park shuttle winds up season with a wreck

By HEIDI DESCH and CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

A Glacier National Park shuttle bus crashed and went off the road Sunday, sort of fouling what had been a great first season.

It was just one day before the new transit system wrapped up its season.

The 52-year-old driver of the bus, Bennie Gardner, was the only one on the bus at the time of the incident. The bus was westbound along the east side of Lake McDonald when it went off the right side and traveled a few dozen feet. The bus is likely a complete loss.

The driver was taken by ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional Medical Center. He reportedly suffered a seizure and has since been released. Gardner was not a Park employee, he is actually employed by a temporary agency — Workplace, Inc.

A Workplace spokesperson said the company had no comment on the crash. Drivers did go through a screening process, which included a physical exam and drug testing, Glacier Park Transportation manager Gary Danzyck said.

Danzyck said Workplace hired all the drivers because they were best equipped to do so, considering the myriad of beauracries involved in the shuttle service.

The service is a partnership with the county, state and Park Service. And despite the challenges, it has been a stellar success. But there are some complications in the deal. For example, the buses are insured by Flathead County, but Glacier Park holds the title to the Sprinters. The larger Optima buses, which came online at the end of the season, have titles held by the state.

In its first season, many summer visitors have taken advantage of the new shuttle system. Total ridership for the entire season as of last week was expected to reach 130,000.

According to park officials, the system reduced traffic on the Going-to-the-Sun Road traffic by about 20 percent.

"We are extremely pleased with the public response from this first season of operation," Glacier National Park Superintendent Mick Holm said. "We hope park visitors will continue to use the shuttle system in future years."

The Park partnered with the Federal Highway Administration to implement the transit system. The shuttle system operates along the Sun Road, and between Fish Creek Campground and Apgar.

The goal of the system has been to help reduce traffic on the Sun Road while construction on the Road is performed for a major rehabilitation project over the next eight to 10 years.

The system began on July 1. Despite some early bumps, problems were ironed out.

At first, drivers were unable to communicate, but now they have radios.

Also implemented were sweeper buses driven around to pick up any stray passengers.

Some of the necessary buses were delayed in arriving. Glacier borrowed five buses from Yellowstone National Park for the east side operation.

The first of eight larger-capacity (28-passenger) buses, purchased mostly through Montana Department of Transportation funds, arrived at the park on Tuesday, Aug. 28 — just in time for these two larger Optima, LLC, buses to be folded into the east side operation Labor Day weekend.

While the buses have stopped operating, the Apgar Transit Center will remain open to provide parking and restrooms.

The buses won't sit idle, however, during the off-season. An interagency agreement between the Montana Department of Transportation, Flathead County's Eagle Transit Authority and the National Park Service will allow for the buses to be used in various transit systems throughout the state.