Tester Secures $2.5 Million for Makoshika State Park Through His Bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act

Land and Water Conservation Fund resources will expand camping facilities, benefit Montana’s outdoor recreation economy

As Montana’s leading champion for improving access to public lands and bolstering the state’s outdoor economy, U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced today he secured $2.5 million to expand camping facilities at Makoshika State Park in Glendive, Montana.

Tester’s funding will be delivered as a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant, a program which the Senator worked to fully fund through his bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). Tester was the only member of Montana’s congressional delegation to support the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Government Funding Bill which will fund this grant.

“Montana’s national and state parks are the backbone of our state’s outdoor economy and are central to our way of life,” said Tester. “That’s why I’m proud to have secured this funding to expand camping facilities at Makoshika State Park so that folks in Glendive can enjoy Montana’s great outdoors for generations to come.”

The funding secured by Tester will be delivered to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, to expand camping facilities as Makoshika State Park in Glendive, Montana. This project will construct primitive cabins; develop RV and bicycle/hiking camp sites; install comfort, dump and water-fill stations; construct a new playground; and relocate an adjacent trailhead.

A longtime public lands advocate, Tester has long fought to secure funding to improve access, make infrastructure improvements, and preserve Montana’s outdoor heritage. He championed the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), legislation that secures permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually and allocates $9.5 billion to address maintenance backlogs on public lands across the United States, after working with Montanans to codify it since 2009. 

In May, Tester announced that his bipartisan Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act to improve the permitting process for outfitters, educational organizations, and community groups to access public land passed through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, setting up the legislation for a full vote on the Senate floor.