Former Park biologist claims staff warned about shuttle buses

A retired Glacier National Park biologist claims Park officials were forewarned that a shuttle bus service would have impacts to wildlife and the landscape, but concerns were dismissed by “Park promoters of the shuttle.”

Steve Gniadek makes the assertion in comments he submitted to the Park on its Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor Management Plan and later shared with the Hungry Horse News.

Gniadek was the Glacier Park biologist when Park officials were planning for and implementing the now popular free shuttle.

Park officials today have all but admitted the shuttle didn’t work as intended. It was first thought the shuttle would reduce vehicle traffic on the Sun Road by at least 10 percent while it was being reconstructed. During the first year of operation in 2007, the shuttle reduced traffic on the road by about 15 to 20 percent.

But use of the service since then has evolved. Visitors began using it to facilitate hikes like the popular Highline Trail from Logan Pass to Granite Park and down to The Loop. As a result, human traffic on trails has surged, close encounters with wildlife like mountain goats and bighorn sheep has increased, as has human waste along trails.

“Increased impacts to wildlife and other natural resources from the shuttle were predicted by natural resource staff as the environmental impact statement for the Going-to-the-Sun Road rehabilitation was being developed,” Gniadek said in his comments. “Concerns that the shuttle would result in heavier use of trails and trailhead areas with increased Park visitation were dismissed by Park promoters of the shuttle. They argued the shuttle would not increase use, might even reduce use, as people who would otherwise drive the road would use the shuttle.”

But Jack Potter, who was chief of resources and sciences at the time the shuttle was being debated, noted that the Park was relying on recommendations by a transportation consultant during the development of the EIS. The consultant at the time projected the shuttle would reduce the number of cars on the road, and because of ongoing reconstruction, it was also expected that visitation to Glacier Park would drop.

But it didn’t — it increased. In 2010, during the height of reconstruction, with crews working on both sides of Logan Pass, the Park saw a record number of visitors as it celebrated its centennial — more than 2.2 million — and it’s stayed high since then. Visitation was 2.162 million in 2012, and 2.139 million through September this year.

That couldn’t be predicted, Potter noted.

Mick Holm was superintendent of Glacier Park at the time the shuttle was implemented. He remembered the concerns about the carrying capacity of trails, but Park officials also recognized the tradeoff — a shuttle would take cars off the road, but it would also increase trail use. In addition, a citizens advisory group that crafted the Sun Road reconstruction timeline and plan, recommended a shuttle service.

In short, the Park was trying to find a middle ground.

“It shouldn’t have been a surprise to people if you put a shuttle out there, then you’re putting more people on the trails,” Holm said.

Holm also noted that as the Park took comments on the Sun Road reconstruction and the shuttle, one of the top complaints was insufficient parking to enjoy the road or the trails unless a visitor got up at 6 a.m. to get a parking spot.

But Gniadek claims the Park management should have known that visitation would increase, road reconstruction or not.

Potter disagreed.

“Hindsight is 20-20,” he said, noting there are a host of factors that impact Park visitation, including the price of gasoline, the economy and the weather.

Potter, Holm and Gniadek are all retired from the Park Service now. The Park is expected to release a draft environmental impact on the Sun Road Corridor Management plan in the fall of 2014.

The shuttle system itself is unsustainable under its current funding scheme, the Park claims. Only $7.50 from the $25 entrance fee is used to support the shuttle. The cost of maintenance and buying the buses amounted to more than $22 per rider in 2007 and has likely gone up. Without additional funding, the Park can’t afford to replace the buses, which are now six years old.

Holm still has hope an equitable solution can be found.

“I always had a lot of faith in the public to come up with great ideas,” he said.

Gniadek remains skeptical

“You (current Park management) should be commended for a willingness to address these difficult issues,” he writes. “However, I fear the usual path of least resistance, a lack of courage in addressing the hard decisions, will result in accepting and locking in current impacts.”

All told, the Park received 138 formal comments on the plan during the scoping phase, plus comments at a host of public meetings, said Park spokeswoman Denise Germann. The Park plans to release a newsletter on the comments by the end of the calendar year. It will then create alternative plans for future Sun Road management by the end of next summer or early fall.