BISMARCK – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Northern Region announced its investment of over $26 million from the Great American Outdoors Act to enhance recreation opportunities for thousands of residents and visitors across North Dakota, Northern Idaho, and Montana. The following North Dakota projects in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands will receive funding:

  • The Civilian Conservation Corps Campground, located near Theodore Roosevelt National Park, will receive funding to expand the main trailhead, create a dedicated equestrian trailhead, improve parking, install a pressurized water system, and upgrade the pavilion and picnic tables to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
  • A project to provide maintenance to the National North Country Scenic Trail. Specifically, the award will fund a project to resurface the trail with specified aggregate, and include the reduction of erosion to protect drainage areas, harden the trail surface to align with user expectations, and increase visitation.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) cosponsored the Great American Outdoors Act, a comprehensive federal lands package, which Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed in August 2020 to address the maintenance backlog on national parks and public lands managed by the National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Education, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service.