During the 2000 recreation season, more 

 than 1,300 volunteers logged over 36,000 

 hours as campground hosts and visitor center 

 attendants, and doing maintenance and 

 interpretive work. In exchange for $8 an hour 

 and college credit, 24 student interns from the 

 Montana University system also worked in the 

 parks system in 2000. 



For more information on the Montana state 

 parks system, see the publications listed in 

 Appendix I. 



Parks Mission and Vision 

 Statements 



The Futures Committee agreed to adopt the 

 mission and vision statements from 2020 

 Vision for Montatja State Parks, with several 

 modifications. 



The mission statement is framed to capture 

 why the state park system exists, what it is 

 intended to accomplish, and who it serves. 

 The statement draws heavily on the language 

 in the 1939 state park enabling legislation, as 

 well as the statement included in the 1990 

 State Park Futures Committee report. The 

 vision statement seeks to broadly describe 

 what sort of park system should be in place by 

 the year 2020. 



Mission 



The nission cfthe Montana State Park system is to 

 presene, erhznoe, and interpret a diierse 

 representation cfMmtana's wost outstanding natural, 

 cultural, historic, and recreational resources, for the 

 personal, sodal, and economic ben^ cf present and 

 Juture ^nerations. 



Vision 



In the year 2020, the Montana State Park system 

 ■uill more accurately r^lea the natural, cultural. 



historic, and recreational dmrsity (f Montana, liith a 

 broader ^ographic and cultural representation than at 

 present The fioure system mil prmide a greater 

 dvuersity cfpark types, such as recreational imteniays, 

 railtratls, and historical routes. The system wU also 

 (ffera broad ran^ cffadlities, experiences, and 

 pro-ams -uhich meet an assortrrtnt cfchangng vsitor 

 reeds and interests, irtdudir^rrare educational and 

 interpretiiE opportunities. Staff wU contiruK to 

 irrpraie resoune protection, rmintenanoe, pro-ams, 

 pknmng rrtmtorir^ site desi^T, lisitor irfomtttion, 

 and ouerall pnfasionalisrn, with enhanced connections 

 and oommurdcution wth odxr programs both inside 

 and outside FWP. The quality cfthe system vill be 

 rrvre consistent and reooffrizahle betueen units, and 

 staff and finandal resources mil be stffident to meet 

 vsitor needs. From one end cfthe state to Mother, 

 vsitcr expectations mil be routindy exceeded by the 

 hi^ quality cfthe experierKes prodded Oierall, the 

 state park system mil be a more integral part cf 

 everyday existence in Montana; state parks mil be 

 affordable places lehere Montanans and their zisitors 

 from all milks cf life fed confortable and vdcame. 



Statutory Framework 



Montana's state parks system is enabled and 

 governed by the provisions of Title 23, 

 Chapters 1 and 2 of the Montana Code 

 Annotated (MCA). In its deliberations on the 

 park system's statutory framework, the 

 Committee focused primarily on the effects of 

 the Primitive Parks Act (23-1-115 through 23- 

 1-118, MCA). 



The Primitive Parks Act 



Passage of the Montana Primitive Parks Act 

 in 1993 designated 15 sites as "primitive" to 

 prevent their further development and to 

 eliminate entrance fees at those parks. 



The Futures Committee recognized that the 

 Primitive Parks Act provides the following 

 benefits and disadvantages. 



State Parks Futures Ccmrittee, DeoemberJ, 2002 



