You should always bring food, water, and plenty of layers when you go hiking in Glacier—but sometimes you might even need… a passport? In this episode, we’ll learn about the friendship that led to the world’s first International Peace Park. After that, two stories about how that designation has affected those that live and work here.

Featuring: Natalie Hodge, Tracey Wiese, Lisa Bate, and Justin and Kim McKeown. Voice acting from Bob Adams.

For more information, visit: go.nps.gov/headwaters

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TRANSCRIPT:

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INTERNATIONAL PEACE PARK INTRODUCTION

Michael:

All right, Andrew, my first season working for Glacier, I was a receptionist at Park Headquarters.

Andrew:

Okay.

Michael:

Lowest paid position in the park, mind you, answering questions people had via phone, email and letter.

Andrew:

Gotcha.

Michael:

Occasionally we had people in person come to the front desk with a question. And one of the most challenging questions we ever got was: "where is your World Heritage Site plaque?"

Andrew:

[laughs] Our what?

Michael:

We are a world heritage site—recognized by the United Nations for protecting natural and cultural resources that are important to the whole world. And every world heritage site gets a plaque to commemorate this designation.

Andrew:

Okay. I don't think I've ever noticed this before. Where was it?

Michael:

Well, that's the thing. Nobody knew. I told them I'd never heard of it and neither had my coworker. So they described to us a two foot by three foot bronze plaque. And we started asking around. We asked our boss who coordinates exhibits around the park, he didn't know. We asked facilities management, they didn't know. We asked the superintendent... Nope. We asked everyone in headquarters, and started calling all over the park to see if anyone had any idea where it might be. And then—it turned out it was in Canada.

Andrew:

Oh, that explains it.

Michael:

Glacier national parks in Northern boundary is the 49th parallel. Also known as our border with Canada and right across the border in Alberta is Waterton Lakes National Park. And the World Heritage Site plaque was displayed at a pavilion in Waterton. So I wanted to call up somebody who works there.

Natalie:

No, that's a great question. And I don't know that I fully know the answer to that. Um, we've recently redone the pavilion in Waterton. So I don't know if the plaque is actually still visible there or not. That's something I'll have to go and look for now.

Michael:

The mystery continues!

Natalie:

Exactly.

Michael:

That's Natalie Hodge.

Natalie:

My name is Natalie

Michael:

Who works for parks, Canada, the Canadian counterpart to the NPS.

Natalie:

I am the interpretation coordinator in Waterton Lakes National Park

Michael:

Waterton, a literal stone's throw away has been Glacier's neighbor since the very beginning.

Natalie:

Yeah. Waterton was actually created in 1895 and it was originally entitled the forest park reserve

Michael:

Two years before glacier was established as a forest preserve in 1897.

Andrew:

Wow. That's really early.

Michael:

Not to mention that Parks Canada—the Canadian counterpart to the NPS—also beat us to the punch

Natalie:

Parks Canada was actually founded in 1911, and it actually became the world's first national park service.

Andrew:

Predating the National Park Service by five years!

Michael:

The two parks administered separately and their respective nations oversee a contiguous landscape that doesn't recognize the political boundary that separates them.

Natalie:

There's many jokes about animals, not needing a passport in order to go back and forth between the two nations. We see blackberries go back and forth across the border with no issue. Um...

Andrew:

[Laughs].

Michael:

[Laughs]

Natalie:

Sometimes same with moose as well.

Michael:

Now that elusive plaque that I mentioned...

Andrew:

yeah?

Michael:

If you managed to find it, wherever it is, it wouldn't say Glacier National Park on it.

Michael:

So we refer to our park, each of our parks is kind of abbreviated names: Glacier National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park... But what is the full name of our parks together?

Natalie:

The full name of our parks together would be Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

Michael:

Our two parks share more than an international border Waterton and Glacier National Parks agreed that this incredible landscape deserves our cooperation. Setting aside political divisions to cooperate in the management of everything from invasive or endangered species to wildland fires.

Natalie:

For example, if there's a fire in Waterton Lakes National Park, often fire crews from Glacier will come down and help, and then vice versa.

Andrew:

And while there are over a hundred international or transboundary parks and protected areas today, back in 1932, we were the first ever international peace park,

Michael:

Which on top of signaling management cooperation was a symbol of goodwill between nations. A statement of unity that—in 1932 in between two world wars—must've been refreshing. With a passport, Waterton is just a few hours away from most places in glacier. And there are a lot of ways to experience it.

Andrew:

Yeah, there are some remarkable hiking opportunities in Waterton that range from short trips to all day outings.

Michael:

And a personal favorite of mine is to visit some of the phenomenal restaurants in Waterton Townsite.

Andrew:

Yeah, we don't have quite the same variety down here,

Michael:

But Natalie leads, what I think is the coolest way to see the place, a way to really experience the international part of our title: the International Peace Park Hike.

Natalie:

I have definitely been fortunate over the years and have been able to lead that Peace Park Hike. And it's probably one of the coolest elements of my job working for Parks Canada. The hike is unique really in the sense that participants start out hiking in Canada, get to cross an international border by foot, and finish the hike in the United States. And our audience members are generally quite excited about the opportunity to be able to hike in two countries in one day.

Michael:

It's so cool. They even hold a little hands across the border ceremony.

Natalie:

And this is where our participants line up on either side of the international border, and they shake hands as a sign of peace and Goodwill with those across from them. And this is a long-standing tradition of the hike, and it's been ongoing since the creation of the hike in 1978.

Michael:

The International Peace Park hike or IPP is 14 kilometers long, or just over eight and a half miles. You essentially walk the length of Upper Waterton Lake to wind up back in Glacier, where you'll finally catch a ride on The International, a 200 passenger boat that's ferried people across Waterton lake since 1928.

Andrew:

Yeah. And from having taken that ride myself, it really stands out as one of the most unique experiences anywhere in either park.

Michael:

Yeah. I agree.

Andrew:

Even just looking into the other country, let alone getting to hike or boat into it is... Powerful.

Michael:

Now again, you do need a passport to visit and you need a reservation to ride the international or to join the IPP. But no matter what you do on your visit, seeing both sides of the border will only enrich your experience. So the next time you come to visit, make sure you visit our sister park, keep that spirit of goodwill alive. And maybe if you're lucky, you could even find that plaque.

Michael:

Welcome to Headwaters - a Glacier National Park Podcast. Brought to you by the Glacier National Park Conservancy, and produced on the traditional lands of many native American tribes, including the Blackfeet, Kootenai, Selis and Qlispe people.

Andrew:

We’re calling this season: The Confluence, as we look at the ways that nature, culture, the present and the past all come together here.

Michael:

I’m Michael.

Andrew:

I’m Andrew.

Michael:

And we’re both rangers here. Now, we've mentioned so far that Glacier has a lot of titles.

Andrew:

National park world heritage site...

Michael:

But today we're going to focus on just one of them: International Peace Park. An agreement between the NPS and Parks Canada to cooperatively manage our shared resources.

Andrew:

And no place better represents the International Peace Park than Goat Haunt, one of the most remote and least visited regions of Glacier.

Michael:

Okay, real quick. What's with the name? Goat haunt?

Andrew:

Yeah. It's kind of an archaic term, but a haunt is a place where someone or something hangs out. So essentially Goat Haunt is a place where the mountain goats like to hang.

Michael:

I see. Well, odds are, even if you've been to Glacier before you probably haven't made it to Goat Haunt. And for good reason!

Andrew:

Yeah, there are no roads leading to it. And the shortest hike to get there is 22 miles

Michael:

Shortest hike from the U S that is.. So you can either backpack for a few days South of the border, or you can drive to Canada.

Andrew:

Yeah. Goat Haunt sits at the Southern tip of upper Waterton Lake. One of the largest lakes in either part, which stretches across the border into both Canada and the U S

Michael:

M