Montana News Roundup: How Much For New Foreign Park Visitor Charges?

We still don't know how much it will cost international travelers to visit National Parks like Glacier and Yellowstone in the years to come. But we do know it has the potential to raise many millions of dollars at a time when the Trump Administration has proposed cutting as much as a third of the Park Service budget, estimated at more than $1-billion.

The idea of charging foreign park visitors resurfaced last month, as Congress worked through the details of the new federal budget approved last week. However, even with the budget's approval last week, there are still no details on how or when those fees will change. And the White House and Interior Department aren't saying.

     🏞️ Park fees have climbed in recent years, to $35 per vehicle at some parks and $80 for an annual pass.

The Property and Environment Research Center, an independent think tank in favor of the charge, estimated last week that even a charge of $20 per international visitor to Yellowstone could generate some $12 million.

Fill up before Glacier trip to avoid high gas price

Visitors to Glacier National Park who don't plan their gas stops are still paying the highest fuel costs in Montana. GasBuddy.com's latest survey shows people filling up in Saint Mary are paying $4.09 per gallon. That's well over a dollar more than the cheapest fill-up in the state, which can be found at stations in Sidney.

     ⛽️ Average gas prices dropped 2 cents a gallon in Montana this past week.

New warnings for the worst wildfire weather

National Weather Service forecasters in Missoula are adding a new warning to their list, just as fire season gets rolling in Western Montana, a change that could help warn residents of the fire's potential to spread quickly.

Traditionally, forecasters have used "red flag warnings" when temperatures, winds, and relative humidity climb, or drop, to levels where fire starts are highly likely, what we commonly call "fire weather".

Now, NWS Missoula will also issue PDS red flag warnings or Particularly Dangerous Situation alerts. Forecasters say it's not a new product, but an additional tag they can use to warn communities where there are "exceptionally dangerous" fire conditions, where fires can spread very rapidly and pose a "significant threat" to lives and property.

     Forecasters don't expect to use the PDS warnings often, perhaps at a rate of once every 5-years, saving it for "truly extreme situations."

Really hot today

No red flag warnings this morning in Montana, but residents along the HiLine are under a heat advisory from this afternoon through Wednesday evening. Max temperatures could hit 100 degrees, only dropping into the 60s overnight. That includes Cascade County below 5-thousand feet, Hill County, northern Blaine County, and parts of Choteau County.

Another accident on this popular Montana trail

Another dangerous incident with hikers on the Avalanche Lake Trail in Glacier National Park over the weekend was when three people fell into the gorge on Avalanche Creek. The park still hasn't released details. But Whitefish firefighters posted on Facebook that the trio were rescued from the gorge, with one person airlifted to the hospital and two taken by ambulance.

     That gorge has been the site of numerous drownings in recent summers.

More details on fatal Carbon County Crash

Montana Highway Patrol is reporting it was a 20-year-old Park City man who was killed Sunday when his pickup collided head-on with a Jeep traveling in the wrong lane.

The crash happened in Carbon County on US-310 near Rockvale. Troopers say the 29-year-old woman from Roberts was headed south in the northbound lane when she collided with the victim's truck. She was injured and transported to the hospital.

Kalispell leader leaving for Washington

One of the longest-serving city managers in the state is headed out of Montana, with Kalispell's Doug Russell announcing this week he's taking a new job as city manager for Lakewood in Western Washington, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

The paper reported he'll be making $265,000 per year.

     Russell has been on the job in Kalispell for 13 years, a time that has seen rapid development and changes related to growth.