Although the outline of Chief Mountain was swallowed in a heavy bank of clouds last week as my family drove past Duck Lake to the Canadian border, we all had to sing the pinnacle line from Corb Lund’s country-western song “Little Foothills Heaven.” Seeing Chief Mountain is very much rendering prayer visible in the singer-songwriter’s anthem to the northern Rocky Mountains. We were glad to be back. Corb Lund, who grew up not far from the Canadian side of Chief Mountain, will be on this side of the border on Friday night to perform at Majestic Valley Arena, writes the best lyrics about the awe of the mountains in our shared “foothill heaven.”
Our prayers to see Chief, despite the rain and snow, came true during our trip last week to Alberta’s Waterton National Park. Despite our off-key renditions of Corb Lund songs and hopes for weather that didn’t include a deluge of rain and gusts of wind, if there’s any national park to weather the weather, Waterton is it. If a hike gets postponed, indulge in high tea at the Prince of Wales hotel instead. Most hikers won’t want to dine on hot dogs before setting out on a trail but Wieners of Waterton is an excellent lunch option when skirting the rain. When the hotel room gets too cramped and stinky wet coats and boots, take in a movie at the former Waterton Opera House.
There are many delights in Waterton that extend beyond the small townsite filled with shops and restaurants—and I’m serious about the hot dog café, it’s delicious! —and chief among is its designation as the world’s first International Peace Park with Glacier National Park. In all the senses save politics, Waterton and Glacier, are one park. Same geological features and foundations, same intact ecosystem of wildlife and wildflowers, same headwaters for three major watersheds. Now that we’re entrenched in the reckless and purely self-interested era of Make America Great, reflecting on the Peace Park is more important than ever.
In 1932, thanks to the efforts of local rangers and members of the international Rotary Club organization, Glacier and Waterton national parks were established as a one-of-a-kind International Peace Park. The project was a testament of peace and goodwill. Although America is currently tumbling through an unprecedented time of political upheaval and erosion of long-established democratic norms, 1932 wasn’t exactly a quiet year, either. It was the Great Depression and the echoes of World War I still reverberated. World War II loomed on the horizon. And yet, two nations, long allies, forged a novel relationship between two cherished landscapes.
Unfortunately, international visitors who wish to visit any of America’s national parks, including Glacier, will now be charged triple the cost. The Trump administration decided to increase international visitor’s fees for passes and for popular parks like Glacier, non-residents will be assessed a $100 per-person surcharge on top of the entrance fee. The message from the Department of the Interior when they announced the price change earlier this year was to make the parks more affordable for Americans and charge more to international visitors to dubiously offset the impact of their vacation. Curiously, the price rate hikes didn’t acknowledge that the Trump administration and Republican controlled federal government continue to slash national park budgets, which is appreciably more detrimental to America’s “Great Idea,” the national parks and public land systems, than international tourists.
Unfortunately, cost isn’t the only factor driving away international visitors, including Canadians, from visiting national parks and gateway communities. A recent study reported that 57% of Canadians are opting to forgo their usual vacations to the U.S. because of trade practices, governmental policies, and political statements that have disparaged their nation. In the Flathead Valley, we all know how much our economy depends on tourists of all nationalities, especially Canadians.
Our collective nations once made a bold choice in joining Waterton and Glacier and that cooperative decision serves as an urgent reminder today. While many political leaders in Washington D.C. live far removed from the “little foothills heaven” our international peace park continues to be a grand idea that transcends boundaries and divisiveness. For those of us who live within a glimpse of Chief Mountain or the other high peaks of the Crown of the Continent, we can keep this once revolutionary idea alive in our acts of goodwill and preservation by our support of both parks.
By the way, Waterton doesn’t add an international surcharge at the entrance gate.