What is the Montana Tourism Development Grant Program (MTDGP)?
The purpose of the MTDGP is to strengthen communities across Montana by increasing their economic appeal and vibrancy as welcoming visitor destinations. The MTDGP accomplishes this by supporting rural and under-visited communities through improvements to tourism infrastructure, tourism product development and preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Developing tourism in a sustainable and manageable manner boosts Montana’s rural and under-visited communities by diversifying local economies, fostering community pride and creating tourism destinations that represent the qualities that make rural communities special. Commerce’s Destination MT Division administers the reimbursement-based MTDGP in accordance with these guidelines.
In 2026, The Foundation for Montana History, working with the Montana Dinosaur Trail, was awarded $1.25 million over a two-year period with the potential to be awarded $2.75 million over a five-year period.
Dinosaur Trail Project Summary
The Montana Dinosaur Trail Grant Program (MTDGP) distributes funding over a five-year period to strengthen statewide paleontology tourism, revitalize trail branding, build educational initiatives, and upgrade physical infrastructure across participating museum facilities.
- Year 1 ($250,000): Hires a contracted Montana Dinosaur Trail Coordinator, revitalizes trail branding and marketing resources, launches an online Tourism Ambassador Certificate Program, funds steering committee travel, and completes infrastructure projects at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum (Malta), Old Trail Museum (Choteau), Phillips County Museum (Malta), and Fort Peck Interpretive Center (Fort Peck).
- Year 2 ($1,000,000): Sustains the Coordinator position, marketing efforts, and ambassador program; initiates development of a paleontology traveling exhibit; provides steering committee travel funds; and completes infrastructure projects in Ekalaka and Rudyard.
- Year 3 ($750,000): Continues Coordinator and marketing support, expands the ambassador program, builds 15 trail-wide kiosk exhibits across partner facilities, finances committee travel, and funds rural facility upgrades.
- Year 4 ($500,000): Maintains Coordinator funding, marketing efforts, ambassador operations, and committee travel, while advancing construction of the traveling exhibit and completing ongoing infrastructure projects.
- Year 5 ($250,000): Finalizes the traveling exhibit, expands the ambassador program, creates 25th-anniversary marketing materials, updates website resources to reflect new facilities, and finishes infrastructure projects in rural trail communities.
MTDG Steering Committee Members
Riley Bell – Recreation Manager, Makoshika State Park
Victor Bjornberg – Volunteer Coordinator, Montana Dinosaur Trail
Anne Boothe – Board President, Judith River Foundation, Inc. dba Great Plains Dinosaur Museum
Sean Doyle – Executive Director, Old Trail Museum
Sam French – Executive Director, Blaine County Museum
Kate Hodge – Museum of the Rockies, Director of Education and Public Programming
Sabre Moore – Executive Director, Carter County Museum
Lila Redding – Board Vice President Rudyard Depot Museum and Dinosaur Hall
Sara Smith – Grants Manager, The Foundation for Montana History
Caroline Tuss – Manager, H. Earl Clack Museum
Questions?
Email Shelby Huber, Montana Dinosaur Trail Coordinator, at [email protected]