state parks— rails to trails type of 

 recreation corridor. FASs are potential 

 keys to linking bigger systems, including 

 bridges. Bring the Montana Department 

 of Transportation into that discussion. 



Distribution and Acquisition of 

 State Parks 



Region 6 (the northeast comer of Montana) is 

 the only FWP region without a state park. 

 Because most of the area was heavily 

 homesteaded, public land is scarce. There are 

 few developed recreational opportunities and 

 designated cultural sites. 



Many residents of Region 6 want a parks 

 program in northeast Montana, with one or 

 more sites developed as state parks. They 

 want equity with other regions, and they want 

 to spur their local economies by attracting 

 tourism. Residents also see parks as a way to 

 enhance their quality of life, and to give 

 people a reason to stay in the region. 



Under its 2001 six-year plan, FWP intends to 

 establish at least one state park in Region 6. A 

 regional parks manager position was created 

 and filled, and a 12-member Region 6 Parks 

 Search Committee was formed to inventory 

 potential sites and nominate a short list of the 

 best prospects. The Search Committee 

 identified a number of potential sites and 

 selected four for recommendation (see 

 Appendix D). 



Recommendation 5 ; The Futures 

 Committee applauds the efforts of the 

 Region 6 Search Committee and agrees 

 that a state park and paries program 

 should be established in Region 6 

 consistent with the policy frameworic 

 outlined in Recommendation 6. 



Recommendation 6 : The Parks Division 

 should use the following set of criteria as a 

 policy frameworii for the distribution and 

 acquisition of state paries in Montana. 



When acquiring parks lands and resources, 

 Parks Division should ensure that every 

 acquisition: 



• Is consistent with the mission of state 

 parks; 



• Adds value to the overall parks 

 system; 



. Is consistent with the intent to seek a 

 balance of park types (natural, cultural, 

 historic, and recreational) and levels of 

 development (based on the proposed 

 classification system); and 



• Is consistent with the budget priorities 

 outlined in Recommendation 15 (with 

 the exception of Region 6, where 

 acquiring one or more parks should 

 take first priorit}^. 



FWP should weigh the following factors and 

 give priority to sites that present a prudent 

 balance among: 



• Acquisition costs. 



• Development costs. 



• Operation and maintenance costs. 



• The ability of a site to generate 

 revenue. 



• Public demand and support. 



• Public welfare and safety. 



• Resource protection and preservation. 



• Enhancement of the equitable 

 distribution of parks across the state. 



Other Planning and Management 

 Recommendations 



Recommendation 7 : FWP should develop 

 pilot projects to develop thematic links 

 among paries that draw a common 

 interest, such as the Lewis and Qarie 

 Trail, river corridors, etc., including 

 between neighboring states as 

 appropriate. 



Recommendation 8 ; Paries Division 

 should acknowledge and foster the 

 existing and potential economic 

 development values of state paries and the 



8 



State Parks FtOures Ccmrittee, DeoenierS, 2002 



