Management zones for Glacier National Park, Montana

This layer delineates the four (4) management zones that exist within Glacier National Park, Montana. Management zoning is intended to spatially guide appropriate park management activities. The four zones are:Visitor Services Zone – developed zones, paved roads, and utility corridors.Rustic Zone – unpaved and preserved “back in time” areas with historical context (e.g. 1913 Ranger Station)Day Use Zone – destination oriented trails (e.g. Highline Trail)Backcountry Zone – backcountry areas not included in the other three management zones Management zones for Glacier National Park were described conceptually in the park's 1999 General Management Plan (GMP). Over time, and through other planning processes, zones have been more clearly defined on the ground beginning with the Visitor Service Zone definition as part of the 2004 Commercial Services Plan. Zone boundaries have been modified as new and better information has become available. Utility information (electric and gas lines), for example, that was lacking in 2004 and became available in 2012 and 2013 allowed for mapping new areas into the Visitor Service Zone. Definition of all zones other than the Backcountry Zone involved buffers from paved/unpaved road centerlines, utility lines or points, trail centerlines, or developed area footprints. A brief description of how each zone was delineated follows: The Visitor Service Zone was last revised in 2013 and includes the following areas: 1) developed area footprints (as delineated by the extent of development) plus a 300-ft buffer; 2) paved roads plus a 200-ft buffer from road centerline; 3) selected non-paved roads plus a 50-ft buffer from road centerline; 4) utility point or line features buffered 25-ft; and 5) selected large lakes identified in the GMP: McDonald, Saint Mary, and Lower Two Medicine. The Rustic Zone was created using the following general GIS processing steps: 1) select included non-paved roads and buffer 50-ft from centerline; 2) capture rustic area footprints (extent of development) and buffer 50-ft.; and 3) buffer known utility lines and points 25-ft. All buffer areas were merged to create the rustic zone areas. The Day Use zone was revised in May 2013 to include the following: 1) trails, buffered 50-feet; and 2) selected lakes identified in the General Management Plan: Swiftcurrent, Josephine, and Two Medicine.

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  "https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2217135"
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