Glacier Park nonprofit sees more needs

Montana Sen. Jon Tester said he doesn’t expect automatic federal budget sequestration to go through next month. He likened it to taking a “chainsaw” to the federal budget rather than properly cutting programs.

Tester, a Democrat, said he was hopeful a bi-partisan plan would come out of Congress that would find a long-term solution to the country’s budget deficit.

In turn, he was also worried that Congress would simply “kick the can down the road,” which doesn’t give agencies like the National Park Service any predictability in their planning and budget process.

If sequestration goes through, Glacier National Park could see a budget cut of about $682,000. Under an NPS directive, that would mean a significant hit to seasonal staff. Glacier Park employs more than 350 seasonal staff each summer.

Sequestration doesn’t just make it tough for NPS, Tester said, it makes it difficult for all federal agencies. Until the budget is settled, not much else gets done in Congress, he noted.

Meanwhile, the Glacier National Park Conservancy is seeing a greater need for public-private partnerships in the Park, director Jane Ratzlaff said.

The Conservancy, a recent merger of the Glacier Park Fund and the Glacier Association, will provide about $500,000 toward Park programs this year. Ratzlaff said the nonprofit funds the Park’s citizen science program, where volunteers keep track of mountain goats, pikas and other animals under Park guidance.

The Conservancy also provides funding for educational specialists and winter intern programs, which helps thousands of school children from across the region visit the Park each year. The Conservancy even provides funding so schools can transport children to the Park.

Since it formed more than a decade ago, the Conservancy has never funded positions outright to keep programs going. Now it does. And needs continue to increase. This year, the Conservancy will help fund safety equipment for Park rangers, including rescue gurneys and avalanche transceivers.

Another new need — NPS will likely have to pay for preserving more than half the Park’s 33 Red Buses. The Conservancy maintains a Red Bus Endowment fund, but until recently it hadn’t received much attention. The fund balance is now about $38,000. With the future of the Red Buses in the limelight, the endowment is getting more attention, Ratzlaff said.

The Conservancy is seeing better public support through donations, Ratzlaff noted. Donations in 2012 were on par with 2008.

“People are definitely giving,” she said.

The Conservancy’s main fundraiser continues to be the specialized Montana license plate, which remains the most popular plate in the state.