Canadian Border Crossing May Reopen

GREAT FALLS, Mont. —  The National Park Service may loosen restrictions soon and allow Canadians and some nonresidents of the United States to enter Glacier National Park on a popular hiking trail along the Canadian border.

The Goat Haunt Ranger Station checkpoint was closed as a security measure after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In July, the Park Service agreed to reopen the crossing to Americans, but it remained off-limits to Canadians and other nonresidents.

Amy Vanderbilt, a spokeswoman for Glacier, said the Park Service is considering changes to that restriction.

“It is the National Park Service’s goal to allow as many visitors to enter at Goat Haunt as we can feasibly allow,” Vanderbilt said. “But we recognize homeland security measures.”

The isolated crossing is at the heart of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park along the U.S.-Canadian border. It is a popular entry point for visitors wishing to hike in Glacier. Each year, about 37,000 pass through the checkpoint. About 7,000 of them stay to hike or backpack on the U.S. side.

Vanderbilt said the Park Service and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service have been working on a plan that would allow Canadian or other British Commonwealth residents to cross into Glacier. Restrictions for residents of other countries would continue. “We feel we are very close to having a final agreement,” she said. “We are hopeful that it will be in place for the new calendar year. We are committed to having this in place.”

Dave Dahlen, chief of interpretation for Glacier, said Thursday that the INS was reviewing the proposal.

“It is a complicated issue, and there are questions that still need to be worked out,” he said.

To enter through Goat Haunt, visitors board a tour boat at the north end of Watertown Lake in Canada. The boat takes them across the border to the Goat Haunt Ranger Station at the lake’s southern end, a popular starting point for day hikes and backpacking trips in Glacier.

Wanda Robinson, co-owner of Waterton International Shoreline Cruise Co., which operates tour boats on Waterton Lake, said she is looking forward to changes in the Park Service policy. Business was down about 30% over the summer, she said, and the company canceled its morning run across the border.