Weigh in on the future of West Glacier

The Glacier Park Gateway Project will have an open house at 6 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Flathead Valley Community College Arts and Technology Building.

The project is a collaborative community planning project engaging West Glacier residents, businesses and stakeholders to envision the future of West Glacier, including the National Park Service, the local community, the Forest Service, the county and a host of other stakeholders.

The National Park Conservation Association successfully acquired a technical assistance grant from the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program, the community assistance branch of the National Park Service that will work closely with partners to conduct a stakeholder and public engagement process focused on the future of West Glacier. Through stakeholder interviews, public meetings and an online engagement website, RTCA and project partners will solicit the community’s input on how best to celebrate and maintain all of West Glacier’s best natural, historic and aesthetic qualities and sense of place, the group said in a release.

The goal of this project is to create a shared community vision plan for the future of West Glacier which will provide a road map for the future in a manner that does not diminish the aesthetic consistencies, historic character and unique setting while addressing increased visitation and development pressures, project representatives said.

The hope is the process will:

1) Build partnerships within the community to help identify shared concerns and goals of all stakeholders and help a diverse constituency find common ground through collaborative solutions.

2) Develop communication channels that encourage interactions among stakeholders to benefit the entire community.

3) Create a collaborative project vision from these shared goals, shaping a master vision and action plan.

4) Identify potential sources of funding for action issues.

Goals include::

- Support sustainable tourism resources and explore alternative transportation ideas into the park

- Coordinate with community wildfire safety planning.

- Coordinate with Wild and Scenic River plans that are being updated; address wildlife interaction while maintaining wildlife corridors.

Visit https://westglacier.mindmixer.com for more information and to get involved in the discussion.