Folks visiting Glacier National Park’s Kintla Lake this July could see a barge and helicopter traffic over the lake as a contractor works to plug one of the oldest oil wells in the state inside the park.

The well is leaking gases, Glacier Park officials said in a release.

The contractor apparently bought a small patch of land in the North Fork outside the park boundaries and will use it as a temporary heli-pad site to fly in the parts of the barge which will be the base for equipment to plug and cap the well.

The Butte Oil Co. drilled the well in 1901 near what is now the wilderness campground as there had been reports of natural oil seeps in the area from both early settlers and Native Americans.

By act of Congress, Glacier became a national park in May of 1910. But the oil well was never capped. Old equipment from the well operation still sits in the lake to this day, slowly rusting away.

The work should begin this month, Glacier officials said at the North Fork Interlocal, but one resident did note a wrinkle: Helipads aren’t an allowed use under the North Fork zoning ordinances.

The Kintla Lake Wilderness Campground is expected to be closed during helicopter operations and active construction, beginning July 27 and continuing through late August. Visitors should check Recreation.gov for current availability before planning overnight trips in the area.

The Kintla-Boulder Pass Trail along Kintla Lake will close intermittently during four days of helicopter operations. Initial flights are scheduled for July 27 and 28 between approximately 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Two additional days of helicopter operations will occur near the end of the project to remove equipment and materials that cannot be transported by boat. Those dates will be announced when available, Glacier said in a press release.

The frontcountry campground at Kintla Lake will be open for first-come, first-served camping during construction.

Visitors should also expect increased construction traffic along the Inside North Fork Road between Polebridge and Kintla Lake. Construction equipment and activities may temporarily affect views and natural sounds around the lake. 

The project is being completed through the National Park Service’s Abandoned Mineral Lands program, which addresses historic mining sites and oil and gas well established before lands became part of the National Park System.

This story was updated July 16 with more information.