By Jason Stuart
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
Following a three-month search, Montana State Parks has announced the hiring of a new manager for Makoshika State Park.
Chris Dantic, currently manager of Chief Plenty Coups State Park in Pryor, will take over the helm at Makoshika on Nov. 6. In addition to managing Makoshika, Dantic will also oversee management of Pirogue Island State Park in Miles City, Medicine Rocks State Park in Ekalaka and Brush Lake State Park near Dagmar.
Dantic is a native of Laurel, Mont., where his family owned the local grocery store. His wife Lisa is a native of Miles City and the couple has two young sons. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in history from Eastern Oregon University.
Dantic is a long-time employee of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He has worked with Montana State Parks since 2003 and has been manager at Chief Plenty Coups for the past three years. He also previously worked in both the Fish and Wildlife divisions of FWP before joining Parks, according to Region 5 Park Manager Doug Habermann. Before going to work for FWP, he had also worked for the Bureau of Land Management at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument outside of Billings.
Habermann said Dantic’s time as manager at Chief Plenty Coups should make him well-prepared to take over management at Makoshika.
“It’s very similar in a lot of ways to Makoshika. He was very involved with the community there and they have a very strong friends group (like the Friends of Makoshika),” Habermann said. “He’s a good hand and well-versed in the system and knows how to get things done.”
Habermann said the final decision on the position came down to two “very good finalists,” but it was Dantic’s familiarity with the inner workings of State Parks and the challenges the agency faces which pushed him to the top because he had the “benefits of knowing the system.”
“Chris understands the administrative side of things and he’s already got a strong network in the state system,” Habermann said. “But he’ll show a lot of other abilities and talents over time.”
Makoshika has been left well-positioned for Dantic to come in and succeed, Habermann added, crediting Dantic’s predecessors for all the hard work they have done to push forward new projects in the park. He said previous park manager Nathan Powell “left the park in really good shape” and credited park ranger Tom Shoush for doing “a great job as interim manager” over the last three months.
With a new manager now in place, the switchbacks finally getting paved this week and a hard push to get a water line to the park campground in the works, amongst other things, Habermann said it is a very exciting time for Makoshika and its future.
“I see only good things happening,” he said.
Reach Jason Stuart at rrreporter@rangerreview.com.