FWP seeking comments on proposed 56th state park at Judith Landing

Eons of Montana history — ranging from prehistoric dinosaur remains to gathering points for Indigenous people to the state’s more modern ranching economy  — join together at the Judith Landing Historic District near the confluence of the Missouri and Judith rivers.

Currently, 109.43 acres of the district’s landscape is under consideration to become Montanan’s 56^th state park, which would allow for additional preservation and interpretive work and increase public access.

The proposed Judith Landing State Park property was previously part of a 47,000-acre unit of land known as the PN Ranch owned by American Prairie. The organization had identified the parcel’s historical and cultural significance when it purchased the larger property in 2016. In November, American Prairie announced the donation of the 109 acres to the Montana State Parks Foundation, which will in turn donate the property to the state if approved as a potential new state park.

“This donation and potential state park could benefit those who enjoy floating and fishing on the Judith and Missouri rivers, enrich the surrounding communities and honor Montana’s rich ranching heritage and Indigenous history,” Angie Grove, president of the Montana State Parks Foundation board of directors, said in a statement.

The Foundation’s work primarily focuses on cultural preservation and park enhancement, including accessibility enhancement, but recently has also focused on helping expand the park system.The Foundation raised funds to help with the creation of the state’s 55^th park, Somers Beach State Park, which FWP acquired in 2021, and this spring purchased and donated a 26-acre property to the state to expand Missouri Headwaters State Park.

“Our first dabble in helping actually grow the state parks system was at Somers Beach,” MSPF executive director Megan Buecking told the Daily Montanan. “If an opportunity comes up and its’ a really good fit for a new state park or a growing state park, we go ahead and figure out how to make that work. This is the first land donation we’ve received and it’s exciting because it’s just an incredible place.”

In the draft environmental assessment developed by FWP in advance of a Dec. 20 State Parks and Recreation Board meeting, a snippet of the area’s history is laid out as the “impetus behind the proposed acquisition and subsequent development.”

A National Register Sign for the historic district states that “few Montana places encompass as much varied history as Judith Landing.”

For millennia, Native peoples used the wide landing site as a seasonal campground and burial site, according to historic records.

In 1805, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark camped nearby and named the Judith River after Clark’s future wife. In 1855, paleontologist Ferdinand Hayden discovered several specimens of fossilized dinosaur bones and teeth nearby — the first dinosaur remains documented in the Western hemisphere.

In the middle of the Missouri River, multiple important tribal peace councils were held on the eponymous Council Island. The first council forged peace between the Blackfeet and several western tribes, according to the historic sign, while the second established boundaries for communal hunting grounds and paved the way for non-Indigenous settlement.

The U.S. Army built Camp Cooke west of the Judith River in 1866, and a few decades later Thomas Power bought the camp and relocated it, turning it into a cattle ranch. With a later partner, Gilman R. Norris, the PN Ranch flourished.

On the 109 acres proposed as the new state park sits the Norris ranch house, which was built in 1901. A partially collapsed granite and sandstone store/warehouse structure built in 1882, a rundown blacksmith building, schoolhouse and old post office are also still standing.

“There’s so many interesting things about it both historical and cultural,” Buecking said. “Preserving this area as a state park can really help protect that history and bolster preservation efforts.”

FWP’s draft environmental assessment proposes managing the park at a “rustic service level,” which would include developing only limited amenities and providing more of a “self-directed experience,” and under its “heritage” designation, which highlights a site’s unique historical and cultural aspects, rather than focusing on recreation or the natural world.

However, the location on the confluence of the two rivers will make this location prime for recreationists, said Buecking. The Bureau of Land Management manages the Judith Landing campground across the river from the proposed site and it is a popular stopover for watercraft.

“It’s an epic boat trip site — right at that confluence — so it would make a great state park for anglers,” Buecking said. “It’s great for wildlife and birds as well. This will be a great way to continue protecting that landscape.”

The proposed park would also be unique because it is surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of land protected by American Prairie and open to the public.

“We’ve heard from people that this site is important not just for local people, but for all Montanans, and we wanted them to be better interpreted and preserved in perpetuity.” American Prairie public relations manager Beth Saboe said. “We’re excited to one day invite visitors to explore this area, as well as the entire American Prairie.”

Before officially accepting the donated land and working on the financial details, the draft environmental assessment has been released to the public. Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks is accepting public comments for the proposed Judith Landing State Park through 5 p.m. Dec. 14. Comments can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to MT FWP, Attn: Judith Landing State Park EA, 4600 Giant Springs Road, Great Falls, MT 59405.

The Montana State Parks and Recreation Board will meet on Dec. 20 to discuss the acquisition of the Judith Landing property. Members of the public will have an opportunity to comment during the board meeting, with advance registration required. Information for the meeting is available at fwp.mt.gov/aboutfwp/parksandrecreationboard.

If FWP acquires the property, the agency will seek funds for development and operations of the park at the upcoming legislative session and through private donations, with development of the property expected to begin in 2026.