The Wilderness Society - Glacier National Park National Parks Glacier National Park Glacier is America's premier wilderness park. This park has more than a million acres, and 98 percent of them are roadless and wild. Spectacular scenery provides the backdrop for abundant natural diversity. Influenced by altitude and precipitation, the Park contains five habitat types from grasslands to alpine tundra and supporting more than 1,200 plant species, at least 200 bird species, and over 50 species of mammals.
Grizzlies roam the vast roadless b ackcountry and wolves den in remote valleys.
Glacier is designated as a World Biosphere Reserve, an international recognition of the value of the Park's ecological resources for conservation and scientific study. More than ninety percent of Glacier's visitors never set foot in the backcountry, experiencing Glacier from the road and from park facilities. With limited roads and great distances between gateway communities, the pressure to develop motels, restauran ts and other services within the Park is increasing. Helicopter overflights are now common and there is public pressure to allow jet skis and snowmobiles in the Park. A Draft Management Plan which will set the direction for Park management will be released later this year.