Boating Paradise: GAOA Funding Enhances Popular Recreation Site Along Montana’s Yellowstone River

Grady Anderson, BLM Civil Engineer for the Western Montana District, says that BLM doesn’t manage much land in the Paradise Valley, making this small tract particularly unique. Situated a little north of the popular Yellowstone National Park, the Carbella Recreation Site acts as an overflow spot for Yellowstone, with the next available boat ramp of similar size located multiple miles downstream.  

As such, the site serves as a key access point to the Yellowstone River. One of the most heavily used facilities along this section of river, recreationists access the site for whitewater rafting, floating, boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and wildlife viewing. The river also serves as a major economic driver for the region, supporting nearby gateway communities and local guiding businesses.  

And that’s why repairing the boat launch at the Carbella Recreation Site was so urgent. The original launch was oriented upstream at a fast-moving section of the river, making it difficult for boaters to launch from this site. The elevation of the boat ramp also caused a build-up of sediment deposits, creating annual maintenance requiring staff to remove the sediment. When the Yellowstone region experienced a 500-year flood event in 2022, the receding floodwaters deposited an unforeseen sediment load and undercut the original boat launch, creating further need for repairs.  

“BLM is only one natural disaster away from having public amenities compromised in these places,” said Anderson. “[We also wanted] to create opportunities and broaden the swath of access [at the site].” 

The newly refurbished boat launch at the Carbella site is built sustainably to last long-term. It transformed the old narrow concrete planks of the original launch into a wider monolithic slab that skews downstream to make boat launching easier and safer on the fast-moving river. The wider design also allows for easier user access and additional capacity—thus ensuring that public lands are welcoming to a variety of user-groups.   

Anderson noted that the project catered to the public as a whole, instead of only select users. He also praised the Montana BLM field office staff, who were instrumental in providing the local knowledge to improve the ramp and incorporated community needs. “Field office staff are recreationists in their own hearts and have ties to these communities," said Anderson.  

In addition, the team hired local contractors to perform the work, instilling that GAOA dollars went directly back into the community, with project materials locally sourced. 

Anderson said recreational use will continue to increase in this region into the future—which makes the success of this GAOA LRF project all the more paramount.  

"Paradise Valley is only going to get more popular,” said Anderson. “Any time we can build capacity at these sites, I think it's a win for public lands and the gateway communities that rely on this scenic and valuable stretch of the Yellowstone River." 

Visit the Carbella Recreation Site webpage to plan your next boating expedition! 

GAOA LRF was established in 2020 to address critical maintenance and repair needs on public lands. Between 2021-2025, the Bureau of Land Management received up to $95 million per year from GAOA LRF to improve infrastructure and expand recreation access, restore backbone infrastructure, and support wildland firefights. To learn more about GAOA LRF’s impact on public lands, visit BLM’s GAOA website at https://www.blm.gov/about/laws-and-regulations/infrastructure/great-american-outdoors-act or the Department of the Interior’s GAOA website at https://www.doi.gov/gaoa.