Glacier Park Touts New ‘Bark’ Ranger, Huge Increase in Visitors

According to Glacier National Park spokesman Tim Raines, the park had yet another record visitation month in August.

"We are seeing a record amount of visitation this year and we saw a record number of visitation last year," said Raines. "Last year our numbers capped off at 2.5 million and this year we are pushing 2.2 million and it is already the end of August. We are on track if visitation continues to smash that record. That increasing visitation is almost an 18 to 20 percent increase over the course of a whole year."

The park has increased personell and has worked to make sure infrastructure can handle the traffic. They’ve even have a dog on staff, to chase goats and sheep away from congested areas.

"Gracie has been one of our centennial programs this year," Raines said. "She is our newest ranger on staff. She has been up at Logan Pass to mitigate human wildlife interactions. We premiered the program in early July and what we are seeing now, as she herds the sheep and goats away, is that the goats and sheep are staying away for longer periods of time and it has been a huge success."

Raines says Gracie has achieved “mascot” status for the park and is working at being an icon. Gracie even has her own Instagram account which you can follow at Bark Ranger NPS.