Public Invited to Waterton-Glacier Science and History Day

The Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park will host the Waterton-Glacier Science and History Day on Tuesday, July 29, from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Falls Theatre in Waterton Lakes National Park of Alberta, Canada. The event is free of charge and all are encouraged to attend. This year marks the 11th annual event. Each year the event alternates between Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks.

Science and History Day is a great way for the public to hear the latest results from scientists and historians carrying out projects in and around the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. Topics are presented in a non-technical manner, and are grouped into themes such as aquatic resources, history, social research and wildlife. Some of the topics for this year include: harlequin ducks, hair snares for grizzly bears, native plant gardens, alpine stream insects, learning from the Sofa Mountain fire, wolverines, and ice patch archaeology.

Waterton Lakes National Park Superintendent Ifan Thomas commented, “Science and History Day offers an outstanding opportunity for the public to learn about some of the research initiatives in the Peace Park. We welcome everyone to Waterton for this special event.”

Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow said, “The peace and friendship of the Peace Park is captured in the many cooperative projects carried out in our scientific community. All the speakers do an excellent job of presenting topics in a nontechnical manner.”

Office of Public Instruction (OPI) renewal units will be available for Montana teachers who attend this conference. Attendees are reminded that a passport is required for crossing the U.S./Canada Border. A detailed agenda is available at visitor centers in Glacier National Park and online.

For more information contact the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center, Glacier National Park at 406-888-5827, or Waterton Lakes National Park at 403-859-5127.



Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Jeff Mow Named Superintendent Of Glacier National Park

Jeff Mow, a 25-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of Glacier National Park. Mow, who is now superintendent of Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska, will begin his assignment at Glacier on August 25th.

“Jeff’s wide experience in many roles across the National Park Service make him an excellent fit for Glacier, one of our most beloved national parks and a focus of great pride and interest among Montanans,” said John Wessels, Intermountain Regional Director. “He has proven himself a very effective communicator and manager, able to build consensus both inside parks and with our partner organizations and park gateway communities. I know he will work well with Glacier’s local, national and international partners, stakeholders and constituents at this very special place in the northern Rockies’ ‘Crown of the Continent.’”

Mow, who has led NPS management and stewardship at Kenai Fjords since November 2004, is eager to return to Glacier and Montana.

“My first visit to the park was in 1988 as a wild land firefighter on the Red Bench Fire near Polebridge,” he recalls. “Twenty-five years later, it is such an honor and privilege to return as superintendent and a newest member of Glacier’s outstanding management team. I can’t wait to join with the park staff and partners as we meet numerous challenges and opportunities facing the park in the next few years.”

Mow, 54, is a native of Los Angeles. He is a 1981 graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in environmental education. He attended graduate school at the University of Michigan, focusing on geology. During college and graduate school, he spent four summers in southwestern Montana as a geologic field assistant with the U.S. Geological Survey. After teaching geology at a community college and working for four years as an instructor at the Yosemite Institute, Mow moved north to Alaska to begin his NPS career.

His first NPS post was as a seasonal park ranger at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Gustavus, Alaska. From there, he moved to Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway for his first permanent NPS job as a park ranger. Next came Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Bettles, where he served as a district ranger, chief of operations, and subsistence manager.

In 2001, Mow was named an NPS Bevinetto Congressional Fellow, moving to Washington, DC, to work with the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The fellowship, a key developmental program in the Park Service, is named for the late Tony Bevinetto, a former NPS employee who served on that committee’s staff in the 1970s and ’80s.

In 2002 Mow returned to park management as superintendent of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Colorado. Since becoming superintendent at Kenai Fjords, Mow’s additional duties have included the role of Department of Interior incident commander in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, policy analysis with the NPS Climate Change Response Program (since 2010), and acting superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska last year.

As superintendent of Glacier, Mow will oversee the management of more than 1 million acres of parkland, a staff of about 155, and an annual operating budget of more than $12.5 million.

Mow, a member of Rotary International for about nine years, has served as president of his local Rotary Club in Seward, Alaska. He and his family are passionate about winter sports, including cross-country and downhill skiing and lake/pond ice skating. In the “off-season,” they enjoy biking, hiking, camping, and paddling. Most recently, the Mows have become fans of high school athletics.


Jeff
Hiking Glacier National Park

Hall Fills Interim Superintendent Role

Kym Hall, a 26-year veteran of the National Park Service, has taken the roll as acting Glacier National Park Superintendent until the position is filled permanently. Hall has been at the park since July 2011 as the deputy superintendent.

Glacier National Park Chief Ranger Mark Foust and Chief of Interpretation Tracy Ammerman will share deputy superintendent responsibilities during the interim.

Prior to Glacier National Park, Hall was superintendent of three park sites in Southeastern Arizona; Coronado National Memorial, Chiricahua National Monument, and Fort Bowie National Historic Site. She began her National Park Service career at Olympic National Park on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. After a variety of positions, including dispatcher and paralegal, Hall took a position at the National Park Service headquarters in Washington D.C. where she worked on regulations across the country. While serving in the Washington Office, she was promoted to the position of Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks where she represented the National Park Service on a variety of challenging issues, including land use, concessions contracts, weapons in parks and other high-profile topics.

It's anticipated that a superintendent for the park will be selected this spring. National Park Service Intermountain Regional Director John Wessels will make the selection, with concurrence by the Department of the Interior Secretary's Office.

Chas Cartwright retired at the end of December after serving four years as Glacier National Park Superintendent.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park Superintendent Cartwright to Retire

After 40 years of government service, Glacier National Park Superintendent Chas Cartwright has announced his retirement, effective at the end December.

Cartwright joined Glacier National Park in the spring of 2008 and has been responsible for the management of over 1 million acres, a staff of approximately 130 permanent and 360 seasonal employees and numerous volunteers, an annual operating budget of almost $14 million, and partnership with four park partners, concessionaires, Blackfeet and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, landowners within the park, and local and regional communities and businesses.

Cartwright said he will miss the relationships and all the people that have been part of his job for the past 4½ years. "I am so fortunate to have worked with so many great people, internally and externally, that have a passion for Glacier National Park," said Cartwright. He has been especially impressed with the employees that care for it on a daily basis, as well as the many partners and neighbors that are actively involved.

Some of his highlights during his tenure at Glacier National Park include the resolution of mining issues in the North Fork, progress on the Going-to-the-Sun Road rehabilitation, leadership of the Flathead Basin Commission and the pro-active response to aquatic invasive species (AIS) and protecting the region's water, and the merger of park partners in an effort to grow private support and provide a more seamless way of connecting others with the park.

Cartwright said, "It has been an honor to be involved with public land management and public service for the past 40 years. I've enjoyed my career and protecting many of the nation's special places."

His career with the National Park Service has included superintendent positions at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado, Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in North Dakota, and Hovenweep National Monument in Utah and Colorado. He held acting superintendent positions at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico and National Bridges National Monument in Utah. He also served as the Associate to the Deputy Director of the National Park Service in Washington, D.C.

Cartwright began his career with the National Park Service at Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Natural Bridges National Monument as the group's first permanent archaeologist. Prior to joining the National Park Service, he worked for the Bureau of Land Management as an archaeologist and the US Forest Service as a fire lookout, river ranger and firefighter.

After graduating from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology in 1972, Cartwright traveled west to begin his career in public land management

He is an avid athlete who regularly bikes, skis, swims, hikes and kayaks. He says working for the National Park Service has been a great way to explore some of our country's greatest outdoor areas. "Getting out and interacting with employees, partners and visitors on the trail has been a priority for me," said Cartwright.

Cartwright and his wife Lynda plan to stay in the Flathead Valley and continue exploring and enjoying the many outdoor recreational activities.

A reception to honor Cartwright is planned for Thursday, December 13, 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. at Glacier's Community Building in West Glacier. For more information or to schedule a presentation, please contact Connie Stahr at 406-888-7901.

It is unknown at this time who will serve in the interim as Acting Glacier National Park Superintendent until the position is filled.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

A Conversation with Chas Cartwright

The Glacier National Park Fund is partnering with Grouse Mountain Lodge to co-host Chas Cartwright, Glacier National Park’s Superintendent, on Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 7 p.m. Chas plans to have an informal, open conversation with the audience about the current issues facing Glacier National Park. This program is open to the public and will be held at Grouse Mountain Lodge. Please check the sign in the lobby for the room assignment. Cold beverage refreshments will be provided by the Lodge. Coffee will be provided by Montana Coffee Traders. GML would also like to invite you to come early for their happy hour and dinner from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. before the evening’s presentation.

As superintendent of Glacier National Park, Cartwright is responsible for the management of 1,013,572 acres, a staff of approximately 150 permanent and term employees, 365 to 435 seasonal employees and an annual operating budget of more than $13,700,000. Cartwright began his career with the National Park Service in 1987 at Canyonlands and Arches National Parks and Natural Bridges National Monument as their first archeologist. Since 1989, he has held a number of superintendent positions at several parks - including Dinosaur National Monument, Devils Tower National Monument, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site and Hovenweep National Monument. He has also held acting superintendent positions at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Natural Bridges National Monument.

For more information, please click here.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

No Changes to Glacier's Mountain Goat Management Plan

Kurt Repanshek from the National Parks Traveler is reporting that Glacier National Park has no plans to change its regulations with regards to mountain goats. This response from Superintendent Chas Cartwright comes in light of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit that was recently filed by the widow and stepson of Robert Boardman, who was killed in Olympic National Park by a mountain goat in October 2010.

Witnesses and others in the area at the time describe an aggressive male mountain goat that approached, followed and fatally gored Boardman while he was hiking. Following the fatal encounter, the goat stood over Boardman until several visitors, including an off-duty National Park Service employee, succeeded in scaring off the goat.

An investigation into the park's handling of the case by the family's law firm turned up documentation that the goat had established a pattern of "aggressive behavior towards Park Service employees, experienced hikers, Boy Scout troops, (and) families with children."

Superintendent Cartwright told the National Parks Traveler:

“We have a variety of wild animals, most notably grizzly bears and black bears, and yes, we do have goats, sheep, and other animals that are in close proximity to heavy visitor use. I think that we have a pretty good plan and a pretty good program for managing that, but that’s something that I think will always be in the back of our minds."

You can read the full National Parks Traveler article here.



Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com