Date: February 17, 2006
Contact: Mary Riddle, 406-888-7898

WEST GLACIER, MONT. – Officials at Glacier National Park remind the public that they are invited to an open house regarding the park’s proposed construction of new employee housing near St. Mary. The open house will be held on February 28, 2006 from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. at the Student Commons building at the Blackfeet Community College in Browning.

As the event is an open house, there will be no formal presentations. The public is invited any time from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m. to speak individually with park staff.

For this project, officials propose to remove 11 housing trailers from the St. Mary administration area and to construct five new housing structures in a new location. The units would be used primarily by seasonal employees stationed at St. Mary and would be dormitory style. Preliminary alternative areas being considered for the new housing structures include: 1) Rising Sun, 2) Swiftcurrent housing area, 3) East Glacier, and 4) a suitable location outside of the park. A combination of locations would also be considered.

This proposed project would implement one of the actions identified in Glacier’s 1999 General Management Plan. The project is currently in the scoping phase. Scoping is an early and open process which occurs prior to the development of an environmental assessment (EA). Scoping comments are used to identify issues and alternatives that should be addressed in the EA.

The public is also reminded that comments on the proposed project can be provided directly through the park’s planning website (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/parkHome.cfm?parkId=61) by selecting this project. Or write to: Superintendent, Glacier National Park, Attn: St. Mary Trailer Replacement EA, West Glacier, Montana 59936. Comments are due by March 14, 2006.