Governor: Yellowstone entrances opening Monday, working with plan for Glacier

Gov. Steve Bullock said today during a press conference that the Montana entrances to Yellowstone National Park are planned to open Monday and, while no date is set, the state is working with Glacier National Park to set an opening date for the west entrances there.

Bullock said the eastern entrances to Glacier opening will depend on when the Blackfeet Nation of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation lifts its ban on non-essential travel.

Bullock said the goal is to start a phased re-opening of Glacier the second week of June.

He said repeatedly that a key to Montana continuing to proceed through the planned phased re-opening and to stay open is for Montanans to continue to do what they have done to flatten the curve of the transmission of the virus.

Bullock said the state is working closely with the park management and gateway communities to plan for re-opening, as well as working closely with other communities in the state and tribal nations.

Part of that includes increasing testing, both of symptomatic people and people without symptoms, and having protocols in place to deal with cases that are confirmed, he said.

"At the end of the day, we know that this this virus doesn't know jurisdictions," Bullock said. "Making sure that everyone who wants a test can get one is a fundamental part of our approach in moving forward with re-opening, and this is something were working towards every day in in alignment with our testing target of eventually conducting 60,000 tests a month."

Watch for more here in Friday's edition of the Havre Daily News.