History of Glacier National Park

In 1891, the Great Northern Railway crossed the Continental Divide at Marias Pass 5,213 feet (1,589 m), which is along the southern boundary of the park. In an effort to stimulate use of the railroad, the Great Northern soon advertised the splendors of the region to the public. The company lobbied the United States Congress, and in 1897, the park was designated as a forest preserve. Under the forest designation mining was still allowed, but was not commercially successful. Meanwhile, proponents of protecting the region kept up their efforts and in 1910, under the influence of George Bird Grinnell, Henry L. Stimson and the railroad, a bill was introduced into the U.S. Congress which redesignated the region from a forest reserve to a national park. This bill was signed into law by President William Howard Taft on May 11, 1910.

From May until August, 1910, the forest reserve supervisor, Fremont Nathan Haines, managed the Park's resources as the first acting superintendent. In August 1910, William Logan was appointed the Park's first superintendent. While the designation of the forest reserve confirmed the traditional usage rights of the Blackfeet, the enabling legislation of the National Park does not mention the guarantees to the Native Americans. It is the position of the United States government, that with the special designation as a National Park the mountains ceded their multi-purpose public land status and the former rights ceased to exist as it was confirmed by the Court of Claims in 1935. Some Blackfeet held that their traditional usage rights still exist de jure. In the 1980s armed standoffs were avoided narrowly several times.

The Great Northern Railway, under the supervision of