Many are inclined to believe that Montana will always 

 have much of her outdoor recreation take place on public land. 

 This may be true, but much of it now takes place on privately- 

 owned lands and a higher percentage of it will take place in 

 the future on privately-owned lands. 



One of the objectives of Rural Area Development (RAD) 

 is "To help develop in a rapid but orderly way a wide range 

 of outdoor recreation facilities on both private and public 

 land, thus providing a new source of income for rural people 

 and new, more accessible recreation areas for city dwellers 

 and suburbanites." 



Almost any rural land can be developed for some sort of 

 outdoor recreation use. Community action, either through 

 cooperative private enterprise or through government agencies, 

 can find ways to convert open rural land into improved rec- 

 reation areac . Harmonizing recreation and other land uses, 

 such as timber production, frequently requires some adjustment 

 in both uses to obtain maximum contribution from the combination. 

 This requires skillful land management. 



Any RAD committee considering the recreational possibil- 

 ities of its area of influence should keep in mind: 



1. That income-producing recreation should be recognized 

 in public assistance programs as an appropriate use 

 of farm and other privately-owned woodlands. 



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