Inside Glacier

This summer marked the triumphant return of the Piikuni Lands Service Corps (PLSC), on hiatus the last few years due to the pandemic. The program, which engages Blackfeet youth and young adults in paid conservation work, reached an important milestone this year: for the first time, the crew was fully led and managed by Blackfeet staff.

Glacier National Park’s archives contain a wealth of fascinating materials and valuable historic documents, but with no park museum to display historic artifacts, documents, and photos, few people laid eyes on these incredible resources. A major digitization effort in Glacier’s archives is changing that—and so far, the results are amazing!

A new internship program is introducing participants from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the National Park Service to career opportunities at Glacier. This was no typical internship: ACE, the American Conservation Experience, has an innovative and immersive new training program to kindle passion and curiosity for NPS careers and build critical career skills. The training program, called the NPS Academy, is hosted at Grand Teton National Park. In March, the cohort of interns spends a week at the Academy building skills and making connections that will serve their future careers.

Jillian McKenna, Glacier National Park’s Wilderness Data Steward, was presented the Wes Henry Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Award by NPS Director Chuck Sams in a ceremony this August in Washington DC.

“It was especially meaningful to receive this award from Director Sams,” McKenna shared, “Since he’s the first indigenous person to serve as National Park Service Director.”

People often enjoy spending time outdoors for peace and quiet, but rarely is the forest completely silent. Glacier National Park has over 260 bird species that you have the opportunity to hear when spending time in the dense forest areas. Because of the important roles they play in the environment, studying bird population trends is a top priority among conservation biologists.

For many people, social media has become an important part of the way they interact with national parks. From trying to find the right trail to hike, to sharing selfies with family and friends, social media can be a valuable tool for the digitally connected park visitor. But increasingly, social media is associated with dangerous and destructive behavior in parks. In a time when headlines abound of hikers jumping fences, disturbing wildlife, or damaging natural resources in pursuit of the perfect selfie, one may begin to wonder—can social media be used for good in our parks?