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Continuing subscribers will remember our write up last month (see pages 7 8) on two uncrowded fishing opportunities in Montana, in what’s called Russell Country. Correspondent Jim Casada mentioned in the article that Russell Country is one of six tourism regions in Montana, and the Russell Country tourism agency will send out a free packet of information on the region to anyone who asks.
Well, we dug a little further to see if other regions will also send out free information packets. The answer is yes. Each of the six regions indeed has an agency that will send out complete packages of information. Or, if you prefer an overview, there is an agency in Helena called Travel Montana (*), which covers the whole state. We called Travel Montana recently and requested their packet, which they sent promptly. The packet contains a Calendar of Events; an Official Highway Map; a Vacation Guide (which includes a history of the state and contact information for various parks and attractions); and a Travel Planner (which is essentially a directory of all the public and private campgrounds, outfitters and guides and accommodations in the state). Other information they have available on request includes a brochure on Indian Reservations; a Guide to Glacier National Park; and a Fishing Guide, which describes the best streams and lakes found in each tourism region and where they are located on the map, fish species found in each water and what facilities are available nearby. The amount of information available is mind boggling.
If you want to see for yourself, here is a list of the six tourism regions and their telephone numbers: Glacier Country (northwest)(*); Gold West Country (southeast)(*); Russell Country (northcentral)(*); Yellowstone Country (southcentral)(*); Missouri River Country (northeast)(*); and Custer Country (southeast)(*).