Blast Glacier National Park to Control Avalanches, Railroad Proposes

Hope Hamashige
for National Geographic News

October 11, 2006

Winter snows in Montana's Glacier National Park constantly threaten to
cascade down the park's high, steep slopes, burying the heavily
trafficked railroad lines that lie along the southern borders.

So the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway is seeking permission to employ an earth-shattering preventative measure: blasting the park with artillery.

BNSF has asked the U.S. National Park Service for permission to fire artillery shells at hillsides near rail lines to create controlled avalanches.

The technique, the rail company says, would be the most efficient and cost-effective method for preventing otherwise unpredictable avalanches from harming the lines and delaying or even derailing trains.

But the request has been met with protest from environmentalists, who say that blasting presents a threat to the park's abundant wildlife, including endangered species such as grizzly bears, lynx, and bald eagles.

"This is a safety issue for both visitors and wildlife," said Steve Thompson, Glacier National Park program manager for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association.

Thompson notes that human visitors cross-country ski and snowshoe through the area in winter as well (related news: "Avalanche Expert on How to Survive Snow Slides" [April 16, 2004]).

"This is one of the best places in the world to see wildlife," he said, "which is why the idea of bombing Glacier is an inappropriate place for this type of activity."

Snow Shed

Using 105-millimeter artillery shells to control avalanches is a technique employed in many places in the U.S. West.

But little research has been done to determine how wide-scale blasting affects wildlife, such as whether it disturbs hibernating grizzly bears.

Much of Glacier's wildlife roams year-round through the southern end of the park, where BNSF has proposed shelling the hillsides.

"We do know that lynx, grizzlies, wolves, bald eagles, and bull trout all live in that area," said Glacier National Park spokesperson Melissa Wilson.

In winter the area is also home to elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and wolverines.

Scientists aren't sure, but they believe that some of these animals might be hunting in the region, while others might be building dens to raise their young.

John Weaver is a wildlife biologist with the Bronx, New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

Weaver notes that mountain goats are frequently spotted in and around the avalanche pathways in the southern edge of Glacier National Park.

"The goats are active all winter, so that might be a concern," he said.

Thompson, of the National Parks Conservation Association, says his organization wants the railroad to take a more passive approach to protecting its tracks.

Specifically, he says, the group wants BNSF to build more snow sheds along the route.

Snow sheds are structures that cover railroad tracks to prevent accidents in areas where the lines pass through avalanche zones.

The sheds have been the primary protection employed by railroads that cross the Rocky Mountains—which include Glacier National Park—for more than a hundred years (related photo: steam locomotive pulling through the Colorado Rockies).

Analyzing Alternatives

BNSF's request to blast stems from an incident in 2004 when one of its trains was stopped near Stevens Canyon by an avalanche that had buried the tracks.

While stopped, the train was hit by another avalanche that derailed 15 cars in two places. Train traffic, including Amtrak passenger trains, was halted in both directions for 29 hours during the cleanup.

Today traffic along the park's southern border is heavier than it ever has been, says Gus Melonas, a spokesperson for BNSF. More than 40 trains cross near the area every day.

Melonas says that the company already maintains 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) of snow sheds along the mile (1.6 kilometers) of track where avalanches are most likely.

But one of the sheds on the BNSF line was destroyed by fire. And some avalanche paths have become wider than the existing sheds, requiring extensions to be constructed for full protection.

Repairs and additional construction of sheds along this section of railroad would cost an estimated $110 million (U.S.).

BNSF proposed blasting rather than building more snow sheds, he said, because building would be "too time-consuming and too expensive.

"[Blasting] is proven and safe and used throughout North America," he said. "With more trains running these days, there is an increased chance of there being another accident. It is all about safety."

Park officials have been studying the BNSF proposal and will issue a report on the potential impacts to Glacier's human visitors and animal inhabitants.

Wilson, the park spokesperson, says that the park has analyzed several alternatives.

In addition to BNSF's proposal, park managers are also considering the construction of more snow sheds, blasting using nonmilitary explosives for a limited period of time, and taking no action at all.

The park will release a draft environmental impact statement at the end of the month.

The public then has 60 days to comment on the preferred course of action before park officials make a final decision.

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