Tester Secures $46.4 Million for Montana Public Lands

Funding comes from Senator’s bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act

U.S. Senator Jon Tester today announced $46,426,937 for Montana public lands, including funding for conservation, land acquisition, and deferred maintenance work in National Forests Across the state. The funding comes from Fiscal Year 2022 allocations of Tester’s bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act.

“Montana’s public lands power our $7.1 billion outdoor recreation economy here in the Treasure State, supporting good-paying jobs and our way of life,” said Tester. “I’m proud to have fought for and secured these critical investments, which will create jobs, bolster conservation projects and provide resources for long-deferred maintenance in Montana’s National Forests. We inherited these natural treasures from the folks that came before us, and these resources will help make sure they’re still around for our kids and grandkids.”

The funding Tester announced today from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) includes $30.3 million for Montana:

• $20 million for the MT Great Outdoor Conservation Project
• $10.3 million for Lolo National Forest land acquisition

The funding Tester announced today that will go toward Forest Service deferred maintenance includes $16,126,937 for Montana:

• $415,000 for Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest
• $2,756,207 million for Bitterroot National Forest
• $1,450,730 million for Custer Gallatin National Forest
• $1,845,000 million for Flathead National Forest
• $3,380,000 million for Helena Lewis and Clark National Forest
• $1,515,000 million for Kootenai National Forest
• $4,615,000 million for Lolo National Forest
• $150,000 for Northern Region deferred maintenance

Tester has been Montana’s most staunch defender of the LWCF. In 2020, Tester pushed his Great American Outdoors Act through Congress and into law, which secured full, mandatory funding for LWCF at $900 million a year, and $9.5 billion to address maintenance backlogs on public lands across the United States. Montana has seen hundreds of millions of dollars supporting LWCF projects to protect public access and wildlife habitat. Recently, Senator Tester secured $1.3 million in LWCF funding to acquire 105.67 acres of land along the north shore of Flathead Lake called Somers Beach for the creation of a new state park as well as an additional $472,500 to help FWP clean up and renovate Westside Park in Missoula.

Established in 1964, the LWCF uses revenues from oil and gas leasing to fund conservation and recreation priorities across the nation. Since its creation, the LWCF has invested millions into Montana’s $7.1 billion outdoor recreation economy.

Tester first sponsored a bill to fully fund the LWCF in 2009.