St. Mary campground in Glacier NP temporarily closed...

keyman44 wrote:
Glacier NP has over one million acres. That's more than enough acreage for the bears to feed on. They need to get someone on a tractor with a brushhog to mow the campground so people could feel comfortable bringing their children camping there.

That will never happen. The NPS is all about preserving, not cutting down, as it should be. It's all part of nature.

We were camped there for about a week when this closure occurred. We came back to camp and found a note taped to our door saying that the campground was being closed because black bear and grizzly were coming in to feed.
When we first arrived to check in we were told that loop B was closed due to bear activity. Loop B is in between (and very close to) loops A & C. As we drove into loop C we could see the campground was VERY thick with berry bushes. It was a bear smorgasbord. The berry bushes grew right up to the edge of the asphalt. Each site had only a small spot cleared and the pull through sites also have a row of berry bushes between the RV and the road. When you came out of the RV you had to hope there wasn't a bear on the other side of the bushes having a meal. When you went to the shower you had to walk this road lined to the edge with berry bushes not knowing what was around the next corner.
Glacier NP has over one million acres. That's more than enough acreage for the bears to feed on. They need to get someone on a tractor with a brushhog to mow the campground so people could feel comfortable bringing their children camping there.

Here is a good short article about the closure from our local weekly newspaper.

Flathead Beacon Article

It's a shame the campground is closed. We stayed there at this time last year and really enjoyed the fall colors and minimal crowds. But the bears need to get fattened up for the winter!

Try Many Glacier Campground ... 1st come, 1st serve... we were able to get a spot for a week, just after Aug 18. We drove in late from Whitefish, stayed the first night at KOA and drove to the campground to check it out.

Ranger told us to be there by or before 7:30 AM to get a spot. Hiked to Iceberg Lake, Grinnell Glacier, Hidden Lake and Piegan Pass to Many Glacier. Saw lots of wildlife, but only a grizzly bear from a distance during a "bear jam" on the road in to Many Glacier.

Would have enjoyed the Two Medicine/St Marys area, but at that time the wildfires had it closed. Next time. :)

When I was there in late Aug 2010 there were LOTS of berries at the campground. I picked enough (at my camp site) to make a cobbler. Very good. Did not see any bears at the campground.

I suspect you're right about the fires causing the animals to change their behavior - especially frequenting different areas than usual. Fire may likely have destroyed some of their usual berry-hunting haunts.

I'm sure the fires have disrupted a lot of normal feeding patterns and den sites. There may be lots of unusual behavior from animals resulting from the fires.

Geez they've had a bad year at Glacier. First the GTS road was closed for road work until July 19th (IIRC) on the east side, then the fires and now bears.