PPL Montana and the Missouri-Madison River Fund are providing more than $275,000 in grant money for five public recreation projects on the two rivers.
“This round of grants supports five projects that will enhance recreation opportunities on the Missouri and Madison rivers,” said Jon Jourdonnais, PPL Montana’s director of hydro licensing and compliance. “PPL Montana and its 500 employees statewide are proud to support this effort and our communities by improving and maintaining recreation areas for public enjoyment.”
The grants total $276,908. Projects range from improving campsites and boat launches in Great Falls to improving fishing access along the upper Madison River. A list of all five projects can be found at www.apleco.com/mmcrp.asp, a Web site dedicated to the Missouri-Madison Comprehensive Recreation Plan.
These project awards, together with contributions totaling $196,189 from applicants and other partners, will enable completion of the five projects in 2009. PPL Montana will contribute $60,673 in 2009 toward the total award amount of $473,097.
The Missouri-Madison River Fund, a $5.6 million trust fund for public recreation, was created through the collaborative efforts of PPL Montana; Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks; U.S. Forest Service; Bureau of Land Management; Madison, Gallatin, Broadwater, Lewis & Clark, Cascade and Chouteau counties; and numerous other public and private partners.
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 the Hebgen Reservoir downstream to Fort Benton, excluding the Toston and Canyon Ferry hydroelectric projects 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 funding to support the River Fund is part of an overall $23 million commitment 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).