News Releases

PPL Montana and the Missouri-Madison River Fund will provide $439,000 toward 10 public recreation projects on the Missouri and Madison rivers in 2013.

A $104,000 contribution from PPL Montana and $335,000 from the the Missouri-Madison River Fund will be combined with $425,000 from other agency and private partners to enable completion of the 10 projects, totaling $864,000. The projects support public recreation on the Missouri and Madison rivers, where PPL Montana operates nine of its 11 hydroelectric plants.

“These 2013 funds will support 10 competitively selected projects that will further enhance recreation opportunities on the Missouri and Madison rivers,” said Jon Jourdonnais, PPL Montana’s manager of Hydro Licensing and Compliance. “PPL Montana and its 500 employees statewide are proud to support this collaborative private and public effort to improve and maintain recreation on these great rivers for all Montanans.”

Recreation projects include:

• Restoration of site amenities at the Lewis & Clark Overlook at Rainbow Dam near Great Falls.
• Chip seal asphalt roadways at White Sandy Recreation Area on Hauser Lake.
• Renovation of a Forest Service campground at Cherry Creek on Hebgen Lake.
• Renovation and repair of a historic stairway at Giant Springs State Park near Great Falls.
• Site improvements at Greycliff Fishing Access Site on the Madison River.
• Replacement of a boat ramp at Broadwater Bay in Great Falls.
• Replacement of picnic tables at Forest Service sites along the Madison River.
• Replacement of asphalt roadways and parking areas within Headwaters State Park.
• Installation of asphalt along a portion of the Legacy Trail near Three Forks.
• Planning and design for the Madison Byways trail system in Ennis.

A list of all ten projects can be found under the “River Fund” tab at www.missourimadison.com, a website dedicated to the Missouri-Madison Comprehensive Recreation Plan.

The Missouri-Madison River Fund, a $6.4 million trust fund for public recreation, was created through the collaborative efforts of PPL Montana; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; U.S. Forest Service; U.S. Bureau of Land Management; Madison, Gallatin, Broadwater, Lewis & Clark, Cascade and Chouteau counties; and numerous other public and private partners. 

This year marks the seventh year in which earnings from the trust have been awarded to recreation improvement projects through the River Fund program. With these funds, more than $2.5 million has been awarded by the River Fund and PPL Montana in support of nearly $4.6 million in recreation enhancements in the Missouri-Madison Corridor since 2007.

In addition, the River Fund and PPL Montana also support and maintain an original 32 public recreation sites required by the Project 2188 (Madison-Missouri River) FERC license.

Created as a public-private partnership to meet public recreation needs along the Madison and Missouri rivers, the River Fund supports ongoing efforts to protect and enhance recreation from Hebgen Reservoir downstream to Fort Benton, excluding the Toston and Canyon Ferry hydroelectric plants and the river segment between them. River Fund awards for qualifying projects will continue on an annual basis, with grant awards in December.

PPL Montana has cooperated with other agency and private partners in creating this fund to support its responsibilities for public recreation on nine reservoirs. These reservoirs include Hebgen, Madison, Hauser, Holter and five in the Great Falls area — Black Eagle, Rainbow, Cochrane, Ryan and Morony. PPL Montana’s contribution to support the river fund is part of an overall $40 million commitment since 2000 for recreational and other wildlife, fisheries, habitats and water quality river stewardship projects along a 524-mile portion of the Madison-Missouri River corridor.

PPL Montana provides safe, reliable energy from coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL Montana and its 500 employees are dedicated to Montana and its communities, supporting educational, environmental and economic development programs across the state. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power for PPL Montana in wholesale and retail energy markets throughout the western United States. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). More information about PPL Montana is available at www.pplmontana.com.