Easter, 2018 — 1116 mdt

Sperry Chalet belongs on a postcard, not in Glacier National Park

Tomorrow is the last day to submit comments to the National Park Service on Glacier National Park’s “…proposed restoration of the Sperry Chalet experience in Glacier National Park.” The combustible parts of the building burned to ashes last summer during the Sprague Fire, but the stone walls still stand, shored-up by heavy timbers hauled in by helicopters last fall. Heavy hitters who love the chalet want it rebuilt, pronto, and there’s tremendous pressure on the NPS to get on with the job immediately.

Therefore, tearing down the scorched stone walls and removing ancillary building, is not among the options being considered. But because that’s a reasonable option, omitting it is a violation of the National Environmental Protection Act. I would consider filing a NEPA challenge if a razzing alternative is not honestly considered.

Built before the Going to the Sun Road was completed, and before lightweight backpacking gear become available, Sperry and its sister chalets served as way stations for visitors crossing the park on horseback. After the Sun Road was completed, and lightweight equipment became ubiquitous, the campground in the Sperry basin met all legitimate overnight needs. The brooding old rock and wood firetrap could, and should, have been torn down — but it wasn’t because over the years a constituency for it developed, comprised of softies who slept there, young people who worked there, and concessionaires who profited from the softies’ belief they had a God given right to enjoy European style luxury in the heart of American wilderness.

But the park is the land and water, the flora and fauna, the scenery and sky, not the hotels, chalets, stores, and visitor centers; not the “improvements” made by humans after the area was designated a national park. These “improvements” detract from Glacier’s natural glories, and should be removed as opportunities for removal arise. The incineration of Sperry Chalet last summer presents a rare opportunity to remove an old structure that hasn’t been needed for decades. Let the NPS finish the environmental cleansing begun by the Sprague Fire. Let Sperry Chalet be found only on postcards.