Help Glacier National Park Update Its Fire Management Plan
On February 27th, Glacier National Park requested public comment on its intention to updates its Fire Management Plan, which was last revised in 2003. Helpful comments at this stage should suggest issues and concerns the Park needs to analyze when developing a draft plan, or highlight priorities for fire management you’d like to see for the Park. Your comments, even short ones, will help ensure a more robust analysis and appropriate draft fire management plan. Thank you for making the time to comment!
Help ensure a more robust analysis and draft plan.
More Information
Glacier is required by NPS policy to have an approved Fire Management Plan. The current plan was last updated in 2003 and is quite out of date given the accelerated effects of climate change on the Park’s ecosystems, and the dramatic increase in park visitation over the intervening decades.
The updated plan will guide how the park manages naturally-ignited fire and fire-prone vegetation to promote an ecologically-resilient landscape, as well as steps it would take to mitigate wildfire risk to Park resources and people. The plan would also provide guidance on the use of prescribed fire, and non-fire treatments (like mechanical thinning) to reduce hazardous fuels, and coordination with adjacent jurisdictions like the Blackfeet Nation or Flathead National Forest.
Glacier NPS is currently in phase one of developing its new plan. Called scoping, this is the phase when the Park works to clarify objectives and alternative actions, as well as identify the suite of issues and concerns that need to be analyzed for their potential effect on the environment. Once this initial step is complete, Glacier NPS will develop a draft Environmental Assessment and draft Fire Management Plan that will be released for further public review and comment.
You can download the Glacier National Park’s Scoping Notification here or the current Fire Management Plan here.
Submit Comments on Glacier’s Proposed Fire Management Plan Update by March 27th.
Or mail comments to:
Superintendent, Glacier National Park
Attn: Fire Management Plan EA
PO Box 1
West Glacier, MT 59936
Comments by email or phone will not be accepted
Suggested Talking Points:
We encourage you to share any issues, concerns, or fire management priorities you personally think Glacier NPS should analyze or pursue when developing its draft plan. Here are some of our suggestions. Feel free to borrow and adapt if you agree
- Rather than mandate a total suppression policy, Goal #3 in the current plan, the new plan should allow some naturally-ignited fires to intentionally burn during appropriate weather / fuel condition windows to restore forest health and natural ecological processes.
- Non-fire adapted forests like hemlock and cedar should be protected from catastrophic fires that will likely lead to permanent changes in forest composition.
- Fuels treatment should focus on protecting historic structures and developed areas like Apgar or Many Glacier; mechanical treatments should not occur in recommended wilderness.
- Increased use of prescribed fire, including the use of Indigenous Knowledge and cultural burning practices, should be analyzed as a potential strategy to restore fire-adapted prairie and dry forest ecosystems, improve fish and wildlife habitat, and lessen fire risk to adjacent communities.
- The draft plan should analyze how any proposed action may facilitate the spread of noxious weeds.
- The draft plan should analyze potential affects of any proposed action on whitebark pine, lynx, mountain goats, black-backed woodpeckers, and other sensitive species