Study to look at Logan Pass goats and humans

Glacier National Park hopes to radio-collar about 20 mountain goats at Logan Pass this year as part of a research project designed to study the iconic animal’s interaction with people.

The research will be completed by Joel Berger, a world-renowned wildlife biologist from the University of Montana. Previous studies have shown that about 2,000 mountain goats live in the Park.

Berger said in an e-mail to the Hungry Horse News that the project is still in the planning phases but the hope is to monitor goats for several years in and around the pass.

“The purpose is to understand how the Sun Road corridor and associated access points affect goats,” he said. “There may be large effects, small effects, direct or indirect, or perhaps none at all. Some may be positive for goats, and certainly there are positive components for people as well. We just don’t have a clue, which is why we are developing the project.”

Berger had tried to study goats in the Many Glacier Valley in June 2010, but the first two animals his research team captured died. It was later learned that in one death a dart had punctured the male goat’s ribcage. Park officials put a halt to the study.

It’s not uncommon for an occasional animal to die from stress during a radio-collaring operation. Bighorn sheep have been radio-collared in the Park for studies, and some died in the process.

In this study, Berger and a technician will track the goats, but the actual tranquilizing will be done by Park Service staff.

The Logan Pass goat study is part of a broader look at the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor and how best to manage it. Beginning this month, the Park will begin an intensive round of public meetings across Northwest Montana to gauge public opinion on how best to manage the alpine highway and the crowds of visitors it draws.

A major concern is the Park’s free shuttle system. While it has proven popular with visitors, the shuttle system didn’t do what it was designed to do - get a large percentage of vehicles off the road. While the system reduced traffic by about 5 percent, it is blamed for overloading trails along the Sun Road with visitors.

A recent visitor-use study showed that in 1988, about 1,800 people used the Loop Trail to Granite Park Chalet in July and August. By 2011, that number increased to 15,000.

The shuttle service makes it much easier for visitors to hike from Logan Pass to the chalet and down to the Sun Road by providing a free ride back to the hikers’ vehicle at Logan Pass.

A similar problem exists at Avalanche Lake. In 1988, about 26,0000 people hiked the popular trail. That number increased to about 75,000 by 2011. The shuttle bus enables visitors to access the trailhead when no parking is available.

After taking public input this summer, the Park will draft an environmental impact statement on how best to manage the Sun Road corridor and will finalize a plan by 2016, acting superintendent Kym Hall said.