Glacier National Park Conservancy

Absolutely love Glacier and this non profit! I love what they do to help keep the beauty of Glacier alive!

Because of the on-going decline in federal dollars, Glacier National Park would be in a world of hurt without the efforts of the Glacier Park Fund to raise money, awareness, and support. The GNP is well managed, provides creative mechanisms through which donors can contribute, and tirelessly promotes the beauty and wonder of Glacier Park. The staff is competent and friendly whether it be leading a hike, creating accessible trails, supporting publications about Glacier, and collaborating with the Park Superintendent. We have been visiting Glacier Park since the 1950s and are grateful for the presence of the Glacier Park Fund to preserve this wonderful place for the future.

Glacier National Park fund is staffed by extrodinary people who are passionate about the park and the people who enjoy it. They are dedicated to funding projects that will preserve and protect the heritage and natural wonders of the park as well as projects that will enhance the visitors experience. They are a hands on organization based just outside the west entrance of the park. Many times one of thier staff members, or the director Jane, have taken the time to shuttle us as we've begun many of our journeys in the park. I was honored to work on the Centennial Campaign dedicated to raising funds for special projects in honor of Glacier's 100 years. I had no problem ensuring prospective donors that their dollars would be spent where they were designated or if requested, for the area with the greatest need. A great organization!

The Fund does a great job of helping local schools and their teachers to get to the park for a variety of educational programs. Other GNPF funding helps a number of NPS programs at Glacier. It is one of the best ways to get public donations to where they will do the most good.

Through my time as a volunteer with Glacier's Citizen Science program my appreciation of GNPF has grown and grown. In addition I look at the park's webcams every day and am so very thankful for their support of that undertaking. This organization is certainly making a difference in the park and in the surrounding communities.

The Glacier National Park Fund (GNPF) uses an annual unrestricted fund source to fund important projects within Glacier National Park. Park staff submit proposals in one of four categories: preserve, research, discover, and celebrate. The GNPF is able to make possible projects that would otherwise not be funded by National Park Service funding calls or other funding sources. In 2011, the projects in the Discover category funded by this source are: Winter Ecology School Program, Reconnecting Children With Nature, Workhouse Native American Teacher Guide, and Two-Medicine/Many Glacier Valley E-Tours. The projects in the Research category that were funded include: Bat Inventory and Monitoring, Crown of the Continent Virtual Learning Center, Packrate Midden Research, and Expand the Citizen Science Volunteer program. Projects in the Preserve category funded in 2011 are: Bear Proof Garbage Cans for Private Landowners and Park Neighbors, Hidden Lake Overlook Rebuild, Rising Sun Picnic Trail Accessibility Upgrade, and Campground Storage Boxes.

My husband and I recently attended Fall for Glacier, a GNPF fundraising weekend event at Many Glacier Lodge. On the hikes to Iceberg Lake and Grinnell Glacier we had the opportunity to visit and learn from Grizzly bear expert Kate Kendall, research ecologist and climate change expert, Dan Fagre, and the Park’s Chief of Science and Resource Management, Jack Potter. We listened to Chip Davis’ (Manheim Steamroller) new, moving composition honoring the Centennial year of Glacier National Park, and viewed Doug McMains’ new film about Glacier, Walk in the Clouds. And at the Cowboy Ball live auction, we had fun with the bidding on 5 plein air artists’ impressive paintings, created on sight over the weekend in Many Glacier. Best of all, we spent the weekend in this historic hotel and magnificent valley making new friendships with invigorating folks from all over the country who share our passion for the Park. The Fund orchestrated a packed weekend that accomplished so much: successful fundraising, breathtaking hiking and horseback riding in this fall’s first snow, the formation of new friends of the Fund, a wonderful venue for Park artists and scientists alike.

Glacier National Park’s Citizen Science Program engages members of the general public to assist in gathering biological research data. The program, now in its sixth year, is supported by the Glacier National Park Fund, and fosters stewardship while providing critical baseline information on Common Loons, mountain goats, pikas, and invasive plants. Citizen scientists in Glacier National Park provide a wealth of data which is used to obtain much-needed baseline information and to increase our understanding of our natural resources. In 2010 we had 178 citizen scientists were active our wildlife and plant monitoring programs, who contributed over 5,600 hours of survey effort. This volunteer effort is equivalent to 8 employees working full time between May and September. Citizen science is a term that describes scientific programs and projects in which volunteers—some with no prior scientific training—perform research-related tasks. Citizen science allows citizens to contribute to accomplishing research objectives that might otherwise be financially unfeasible while promoting public involvement with research and science.

Thanks to funding from the Glacier Fund, my Freshman Earth Science Class from Flathead High School took 2 field trips to Glacier National Park this past winter and spring. This was a culmination of the things learned during the year and a chance to observe the differences in the seasons. Our school is under stringent budget guidelines this year and there is little money available for field trips. What money is available usually goes to classes for the upperclassman courses. Only with funding for transportation were these field trips possible. Prior to these field trips,some of these students had never visited Glacier National Park! As freshman, it is necessary to "hook" them into the outdoors early or they may never develop that interest in the natural world. There were many "aha" moments during our field trips and it was exciting to see the growth in knowledge of students.