GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Montana – With a nickname like the “Crown of the Continent”, Glacier National Park is sure to be a place of beauty. It attracts people from around the world, all hoping to catch a glimpse at the stunning views and wildlife the park has to offer. Sadly, with crowds and tons of animals, wildlife habituation can become a real problem.
Wildlife habituation occurs when animals no longer see people as a threat. It may be because they’ve been fed or it may simply because they’d been repeatedly exposed to people, but it often leaves the animals as a threat to people, other animals, and themselves. So Glacier National Park employs a furry “bark ranger”, Gracie the border collie, to act as a wildlife shepherd.
Gracie, owned by Glacier’s Natural Resources Program Manager Mark Biel, is professionally trained for the task, doing a 10 week program at the Wind River Bear Institute, in Florence, Montana. During those 10 weeks, she learned many verbal commands to control her movements, including the “recall” command, while Mark Biel, was trained to be her handler.
Now Gracie works inside the park, typically working from a distance and never actually touching the animals. She shepherds until the animals have moved a safe distance from tourists and parking lots, wearing an orange vest to show that she’s a working dog. At some sights, like Logan Pass, she only ever works on-leash, with just the sight of her often being enough to push the animals away.
Other methods are employed to move animals out of the Logan Pass parking lot, like arm-waving, shouting, sirens, etc., but when Gracie is around, the goats and sheep tend to stay away for much longer. Traditional methods will keep the animals out for 10–15 minutes, while Gracie usually keeps them out for 15 minutes to 9 hours.
Dogs are allowed in many National Parks, but where they’re allowed differs depending on the park. Many parks won’t allow dogs a certain distance away from parking lots or onto trails. Make sure to check the rules for the park you plan on visiting before bringing Fluffly along with you.
