The Rockies

You could spend years exploring this mountain range and never be bored. 

Glacier National Park sits squarely in the middle of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem -- a critically important region extending south along the Continental Divide, from the Canadian Rockies into Montana.  In addition to the region's incredible biodiversity, Glacier's importance is magnified by the fact that it contains the headwaters for streams that flow to the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and to Hudson's Bay. Any issues in Glacier will have a significant impact on water supply in a large portion of North America.

Despite federal protection, land development and climate change have proved an existential challenge for the region's fauna and namesake glaciers. In particular, a warming climate has meant the disappearance of the majority of the region's alpine glaciers. The US Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed there were approximately 150 glaciers in 1850, with that number staying consistent into 1910, when the park was established. Over the next 100 years, however, the vast majority of those glaciers disappeared. In 2015, only 26 glaciers larger than 25 acres (the USGS requirements for a body of ice to be considered a glacier) remained.

Because glaciers release water and act as reservoirs during the summer, their disappearance means less cold water and warmer temperatures in streams in the hotter months (dangerous for important insects and trout species), less water for agriculture and recreation (impacting local communities), weakened trees (putting forests at further risk from pine beetle infestations), and increased intensity of wildfires. 

The impacts of climate change are further compounded by the fact that temperatures in western Montana are rising at a rate almost double the global average. If current trends continue, the park estimates it will have no more active glaciers by 2030. There is no question that all glaciers will have disappeared from Glacier National Park by the end of the century.  

To learn more, please visit the USGS website.
Detailed information on the park's named glaciers is also available here.