On August 25th before the Climate Change Hike to Hidden Lake Overlook from Logan Pass, there was an opportunity to present the Quiet! Glacier Petition to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. (But we're not done yet, see below!) Jewell experienced a rare event on this beautiful summer day in Glacier. Scenic helicopters did not fly tours that morning, knowing that Jewell was going to be there. The quiet was as stunning as the view, and perfectly made the point. What does that say about the respect natural soundscape in Glacier and the everyday visitor seeking peace and quiet and escape from the noise of routine life? The Secretary spoke about hopes for the National Parks in the next hundred years, and she took a few excellent questions from press -one of which was about the local overflight issue. Jewell emphasized the importance of balance between: • encouraging people in the nation and around the world -of all colors, incomes and ages to explore their parks, while • protecting the visual, audio and physical; natural and historical resources with which the National Park Service is entrusted. There was also an opportunity to hike back from the Overlook with Secretary Jewell part of the way. We talked about the soundscape and importance of its preservation. Jewell encouraged us to continue our advocacy -because that is how the Department learns about the issues, and how we protect our public lands. The Quiet! Glacier Petition will be active until we reach our goal of eliminating the commercial helicopter overflights. Thank you for signing and working to save Glacier from the din of commercial helicopters - an offense to this majestic National Park that was supposed to be phased out more than a decade ago. In addition to adversely impacting the natural sounds resource, negatively affecting wilderness and visitor experience, the commercial helicopter tours contribute to the destruction of the glaciers they seek to tour, by contributing to greenhouse gases. See the Open Letter to Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell and Secretary of DOT Anthony Foxx for a refresher on details and information to share. (http://quietglacier.wixsite.com/coalitioninformation/sign-petition) Petition signatures: 31,358 From 40 countries and all 50 states! Please keep spreading the word however you can!