Montana Trail Stewardship Grant Program Announces 2024 Awards

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks announced today that 36 trail organizations, communities, and various land-managing agencies throughout Montana will receive Montana Trail Stewardship Program (TSP) grant awards for their projects in 2024.

Forty TSP applications were received this year from various eligible applicants, including federal and state agencies, towns, cities, counties, recreational clubs, and nonprofit organizations.

The TSP awards for this year’s cycle total approximately $2 million in state funds. Grants funds are allocated to the highest-scoring projects and State Trails Advisory Committee (STAC) recommendations.

The 36 TSP projects for the 2024 cycle include 20 rehabilitation/maintenance projects, seven new trail development projects, and nine new trailhead development projects.

Projects include:

• The Town of Fort Peck is awarded $100,000 to construct a 1.3-mile gravel pedestrian walking path along Highway 117 for increased pedestrian safety and outdoor accessibility.

• The Elkhorn Working Group, based in Boulder, will receive $39,820 to rehabilitate the old McCarty Creek Road, which was established around 1883 as a stage route from Boulder to Elkhorn City, into a multi-use trail with improved signage and trail connectivity for motorized and nonmotorized trail users.

• Lincoln County will receive $62,479 to improve visitor services and accessibly at the Kootenai Falls trailhead. Kootenai Falls is one of the area's most highly visited natural attractions. Lincoln County partners with tribal governments, local nonprofits, and state and federal agencies to ensure that natural and cultural resources are properly protected.

FWP administers TSP grant awards, and the program is funded through a portion of Montana’s light motor vehicle registration fee and from the taxation of recreational marijuana. Since the program was established in 2021, TSP has awarded approximately $5.6 million in funding to 140 trail-related projects across the state.

A list of the successful 2024 TSP grant recipients is available at fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/grant-programs/trail-stewardship; click “2024 Grant Application Cycle.”

Contact FWP recreation and trails coordinator Tom Lang at TSPGrants@mt.gov for more information.