Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton today announced approval of the largest Land and Water Conservation Fund project to date on Indian Indians. The $550,000 L&WCF grant is for development of the Blackfeet lands. St. Mary's Lake Recreation Complex in Montana.
The Federal monies, matched by the Blackfeet Tribal Council for a total investment of $1.1 million, will be used to provide new campground and outdoor recreation facilities on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which parallels the eastern edge of the Glacier National Park, in northwest Montana. The will be located on the northeast shore site --Chewing Blackbones Campground of St. Mary's Lake, adjacent to U.S. Highway 89 between the St. Mary's and Many Glacier entrances to the park.
James G. Watt, Director of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation which administers the Land and Water Conservation Fund, said, "It is gratifying to know that the Blackfeet Indian Tribe is undertaking a project which" not only will bolster their own economy, but also will provide the vacationing public with much needed accommodati6ns near Glacier National Park."
The St. Mary's Lake Recreation Complex, part of a larger development providing complete services for the area's tourists, will include a campground situated on a peninsula, boating facilities, and a children's fishing pond. Picnic grounds and a par-3 golf course are also planned.
