GLAC VUM Plan

The National Park Service (NPS) mission calls for us to provide the best possible access to meaningful and enjoyable experiences while preserving the resources that make Glacier special. In recent years, achieving that mission has become more complex due to growth in visitation and changing use patterns, experienced not only in the park but in northwestern Montana, generally.

The goal of this process is to identify strategies that will holistically manage visitor access and travel to alleviate vehicular and pedestrian congestion. These strategies will preserve what makes the park special and maintain the unique character of different areas of the park. The plan will assess a variety of ways to improve park experiences and resource protection, including enhancing shuttle services, implementing reservation systems, and pursuing other strategies that would be applied in a fair and equitable way. A long-term plan would ensure that park operations and infrastructure remain sustainable for generations to come. This plan is needed to address the following issues:

- traffic congestion and visitor movement challenges
- road and valley closures as a result of traffic congestion 
- staff capacity and visitor use impacts on park operations
- visitor use impacts on natural and cultural resources
- impacts on the quality of visitor experience at key destinations