State Parks 



At the time the State Parks Division was 

 transferred to the State Fish and Game Com- 

 mission, there were in existence 26 State Parks, 

 State Monuments and State Recreation Areas. 

 New units are being added to the system and 

 by the fall of 1966 the total number of areas 

 will be in the neighborhood of 30. 



The 1963 Session of the Legislature enacted 

 a law making possible the use of one percent 

 of Montana's gas tax for the acquisition, devel- 

 opment, operation and maintenance of water- 

 based State Parks and Recreation Areas. This 

 legislation was re-enacted by the 1965 Session 

 of the Legislature. 



The enactment of this legislation has made 

 it possible to initiate substantial improvement 

 programs in the water-based State Park units. 

 In addition, the Land and Water Conservation 

 Act of 1965, administered by the Bureau of 

 Outdoor Recreation, has doubled the potential 

 development of these areas by reason of 50-50 

 Federal funding. 



Listed in the Appendix are the projects, by 

 district, that have been approved for develop- 

 ment on water-based units in accordance with 

 currently developed site plans. 



Because of a lack of funds, there have been 

 no projects, other than routine operation and 

 maintenance for the land-based parks. Most 

 of the land-based parks are badly in need of 

 rehabilitation and it is hoped that this situa- 

 tion will be carefully considered at the next 

 session of the Legislature. If funds were made 

 available at the next session, many planned 

 site developments for the land - based parks 

 could be carried out under the 50-50 Federal 

 funding available under the Land and Water 

 Conservation Act. 



Statewide Outdoor Recreation Plan 



The Montana Fish and Game Department 

 prepared a Statewide Outdoor Recreation Plan 

 for Montana in the fall of 1965. This represented 

 the first inclusive plan of this kind prepared 

 for the state. It was submitted for approval to 

 the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation as a pre- 

 requisite to participation in development and 

 acquisition aspects of the Land and Water 

 Conservation Fund program. The Plan was 

 approved in late November of 1965. 



The work of assembling the plan was car- 

 ried out by the Fish and Game Department, 

 with the help of the Bureau of Outdoor Recre- 

 ation and with financial assistance from the 

 Highway Commission. Much of the information 

 included was obtained from various other state 

 and federal agencies as well as cities, coun- 

 ties and private groups and individuals. 



The plan represents a broad guide for recre- 

 ation developments at all levels throughout the 

 state. It is comprised of several major sections: 



Inventory 



The first section is made up of an Inventory 

 of outdoor recreation facilities presently avail- 

 able to the public. These are provided in Mon- 

 tana by federal and state agencies, counties, 

 cities and private enterprises. They consist of 

 campgrounds, picnic facilities, play fields, 

 swimming pools, marinas, outfitting services, 

 etc. 

 Demand 



The next section presents the demand for 

 outdoor recreation by Montana residents and 

 visitors at the present time and by the year 

 1975. 

 Need 



This section lists recreation need obtained 

 by relating supply with demand, and provides 

 guidelines for future recreation development in 

 Montana in the broad category of outdoor 

 recreation. 

 Action Program 



This section expresses the need for continued 

 up-dating of the plan as additional information 

 is obtained. Master plans for site development 

 of State Parks, recreation areas and fishing 

 access sites were recommended for immediate 

 attention. 



Planning for the preservation and recreation- 

 al development of selected sections of Mon- 

 tana's free-flowing rivers was also stressed in 

 the action program. This has been implemented 

 by the newly developed State's Recreational 

 Waterways System (see section VI on the State 

 Recreational Waterway System for further 

 detail). 



In general, the development of areas dedi- 

 cated to recreation was demonstrated as a 

 statewide need of high priority. The following 

 specific recommendations were made for an 

 overall program delineating responsibility from 

 the Federal level to the individual. 



1. The rehabilitation of existing State Parks 

 and recreation areas. 



2. The complete development of urban parks 

 and play fields. 



3. The development of rest areas and ade- 

 quate wayside camping and picnicking 

 facilities adjacent to the state's travel 

 system. 



4. The development of recreation facilities 

 associated with water-based activities. 



5. The recreation development of the state's 

 fishing access sites. 



6. The Plan indicates the need for further 

 acquisition of carefully selected key rec- 

 reation tracts. Those acquisition projects 

 meriting high priority consideration are 

 as follows: 



land for city and/or county parks and 



playfields; 

 land for the development of new state 



parks and recreation areas to round 



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