Active military get free Park passes

They’re serving their country. Now they can go to Glacier National Park and any other national park for free.

Last week, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced that all active members of the military and their dependents, including those in the National Guard, can now obtain an America the Beautiful pass for free.

The pass is valid for all national parks as well as sites managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Forest Service. Locally, that would include the National Bison Range.

“They fight for our ability to go to these parks and other freedoms,” Salazar said in a conference call with reporters last week.

The idea originated with a bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester. While the bill didn’t pass, Salazar said it was his intention to make this policy permanent.

Tester, meanwhile, said he’d continue to push for a law that would allow all veterans — active or not — some sort of discount or free admission to national parks and federal properties.

The new military pass and any annual pass can be obtained from a staffed park entrance station or from a park headquarters building.