Park housing could cost $4-$7 million

A plan to revamp Glacier National Park’s east side housing situation has an estimated cost of $4 million to $7 million. The Park recently released an environmental assessment of the project, which calls for building a four-plex and an eight-plex in the Many Glacier area near the Swiftcurrent Ranger Station. In addition, a duplex would be built in the East Glacier Ranger Station complex.

The new buildings would replace a series of dilapidated trailers that were in the St. Mary complex. The trailers were not only old, but were also in the flood plain. But since the removal of the 10 trailers from the St. Mary housing area, the park has often needed to house two employees per bedroom.

The Park looked at several alternatives for the St. Mary area so workers won’t have to commute, but they were rejected. Those ideas included leasing land outside the Park near St. Mary as well as other locations, including the U.S. Customs Border site and property formerly used by the Malmstrom Air Force Base for recreation. The Park also rejected adding more housing to the Rising Sun area, building housing on a bench above the St. Mary campground, building near the historic 1913 Ranger Station in St. Mary as well as several others.

Many of the St. Mary sites either had wildlife concerns or floodplain concerns. Divide Creek runs through the area and while it normally is a placid stream, it is prone to flooding during heavy rain events.

The Park concedes in the assessment that the new buildings in Many Glacier will have some impact on the historic district of the Swiftcurrent Ranger Station, though the design of the structures is expected to mitigate those impacts.