GLACIER NATIONAL PARK – ONE OF THE GREAT WILDERNESS PARKS FACES DANGER

There are places on the face of this Earth that might disappear before we all get a chance to see their beauty. Ironically most of those places will disappear because so many want to see their beauty. At Travel World Passport we will present those places – we hope you enjoy the list of Top Ten Places to See Before They’re Gone. We continue with one of the great wilderness parks – Glacier National Park

Located in northwest Montana, Glacier National Park is one of the great wilderness parks of the lower 48 states. Glacier National Park has many unique and special designations. In 1932, acts by the Canadian Parliament and United States Congress designated Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and Glacier National Park as the world’s first International Peace Park. In 1995, the United Nations World Heritage Committee designated Waterton-Glacier Peace Park as a World Heritage Site, in recognition of the park’s outstanding universal values. The park’s stunning vistas, pristine waters, and abundant wildlife all contribute to its status as a national treasure. In 2010 Glacier National Park turned 100 years old. But the park is no happy b-day boy – Glacier National Park is endangered. Climate change and several proposed coal and gold mines in Glacier’s Canadian headwaters could forever change this special park.

The international recognition and legacy of Waterton-Glacier continued in 1995 when the World Heritage Committee accepted the bi-national nomination of Canada and the United States to add Waterton-Glacier to the list of World Heritage sites in recognition of the park’s outstanding universal values.

But this legacy is at risk.  Proposed coal strip mines, coal-bed methane extraction, and gold exploration in Canadian headwaters of the Flathead River threatens to change this wild and special place forever, industrializing this pristine landscape and river that wildlife depends upon, and we all use for fishing, hiking, and rafting.

In June of 2009 the 33rd Annual Meeting of the World Heritage Committee convened in Seville, Spain.  The agenda included a petition sponsored by NPCA and 10 other conservation organizations to have Waterton-Glacier added to the list of World Heritage sites “In Danger.” MAke sure you put it on your list of places to see before they’re gone!