WEST GLACIER — Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow will officially retire at the end of December after 33 years working in the park service, including eight years in northwest Montana.
Mow tackled several challenges during his tenure including the reopening of the Sperry Chalet after the historic building was mostly destroyed by wildfire in 2017.
Mow and his team also worked to fight overcrowding problems at the park's west entrance, implementing aticketed entry program guaranteeing access to the popular Going-To-The-Sun Road.
“Really been able to set things up well in terms of how we think about visitor use management, I think we learned a lot last year doing ticketed entry, you know whether it looks exactly the same it did last year I don’t know, the team that’s there is looking at that hard." - Glacier National Park Superintendent Jeff Mow
Mow said he’s pleased with his time spent building strong community relationships that will last for years to come.
“I think our relationship with the Blackfeet Tribe and some of the initiatives we have to work more collaboratively on some issues of common interest are greatly improved,” said Mow.
Mow has spent the last six months on special detail acting as Regional Director for Alaska National Parks. He said he’s most proud of being a part of a great team at Glacier, relying heavily on that team while he’s been away.
“When I look back it’s really creating the team, the staff that are able to take on those issues and be adaptable and flexible because a lot of these challenges require kind of a quick pivot to move in new directions quickly and I’m just really proud of the team that’s there,” added Mow.
Mow said wanting to spend more time with family made this the perfect time for his retirement.
“You know I’ve got a father who’s 98 and still living on his own and you know I just feel like I visited recently and realized I don’t make enough time to spend with him and I think given what we’ve seen over the past two years we realize the value of family,” said Mow.
Mow expects a new superintendent to be appointed this coming spring.
