US Senate approves maintenance on pipeline in Glacier National Park

Earlier this week the U.S. Senate passed a bill that protects Kalispell's natural gas supply. The city receives its natural gas supply from an aging pipeline that runs through Glacier National Park. The National Park Service currently does not have the authority to issue a permit to Northwestern Energy to upgrade and maintain the 50 year old pipeline.

Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus' bill allows the Park Service to issue a permit to perform maintenance on the pipeline, allowing Kalispell to safely receive needed energy while protecting some of Montana's most treasured lands.

Specifically, the bill allows maintenance work on a 3.5-mile section of pipeline that parallels U.S. 2 on the southern boundary of Glacier National Park.

The Montana Power Company constructed the pipeline in 1962 and received its first special use permit in April of that year. The permit was renewed through 1990, but the Park Service later determined that it did not have the authority needed to grant permits.

The pipeline runs 118 miles and carries natural gas to 25,000 consumers in the Flathead.

The House of Representatives passed a similar version of the measure in December and the President is expected to sign the bill into law.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

New Exhibit: Mountaineering in Glacier

A new exhibit at the Museum at Central School in Kalispell traces the rich history of mountaineering in Glacier National Park.

Open now through March of 2013, the exhibit traces the adventure-filled history of mountain climbing and hiking in Glacier National Park, along with the activities of the exhibit’s creator, the Glacier Mountaineering Society. The display is part of an on-going partnership with the First Best Place Task Force’s Discovery Square in Columbia Falls and the Museum at Central School in Kalispell.

Mountaineering in Glacier offers an in-depth look at the history of mountaineering in Glacier through a video presentation, photographs, old newspaper stories and a rock wall built to display the gear used for mountaineering.

An opening reception for the exhibit will occur on Friday, May 4 from 5-7 p.m.

For more information on the exhibit or the Museum at Central School, click here or call 406-756-8381.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com