Glacier National Park's New Sister

Glacier National Park has a new Sister. Mongolia's Gorkhi-Terelj National Park and Glacier established a Sister Park Arrangement on October 24, 2015.

Glacier Superintendent Mow signs sister park arrangement with his counterpart from Mongolia's Gorkhi-Terelj National Park

NPS photo.

WEST GLACIER, MONT. – A delegation from Gorkhi-Terelj National Park and the Mongolian Department of Protected Areas Management visited Glacier National Park for five days this October. The visit included the signing of a Sister Park Arrangement between Glacier National Park and Gorkhi-Terelj National Park on October 24.

The Mongolian delegation included two members of the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism, including the Director, and four staff. Glacier National Park volunteers and past employees Fred and Lynne VanHorn provided primary logistical support for the delegation.

Glacier National Park has had a sister park agreement with the Khan Khentii Protected Area in Mongolia—just north of Gorkhi-Terelj—since 2004. Khan Khentii Protected area was divided into two parts in 2013, one of which is Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. Gorkhi-Terelj National Park is located in Northeast Mongolia, 37 Km from Ulaanbaatar, the nation’s capital.

The purpose of the sister park relationship is to promote international cooperation for the mutual benefit of the parks, provide a forum for collaboration about shared challenges, enrich the experience and training of park personnel through international exchanges and to share the cultural and social values of both countries.

Mongolia and Montana are located at the same latitude and have similar landforms, ecosystems, and wildlife. These similarities provide a unique platform for international cooperation and information sharing. The relationship with Gorkhi-Terelj will allow both parks to exchange expertise and to collaborate on a variety of projects, including education and youth programs, GIS mapping and trails development, threatened species protection, and the development of adaptive strategies in response to climate change.

During the visit, the Mongolian delegation toured the park and met with park staff and the park’s non-profit partners. They also worked with park staff to assemble a ger, which is a type of yurt that the Mongolian Ministry of Environment gifted to Glacier National Park several years ago. The Glacier National Park Conservancy supported the visit, covering local expenses associated with their visit to the area.