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Commonly known as the Beartooth Highway, this road is an excellent example of the cooperative relationship between the Bureau of Public Roads, precursor to the Federal Highway Administration, and federal land managing agencies such as the National Park Service and the Forest Service. The road was the first and most substantial to be constructed under the Park Approaches Act passed in 1931. Its completion opened new territory for purposes of recreational development and substantially increased tourism in Yellowstone National Park and the region. Its presence facilitated the development of outdoor recreational facilities such as campgrounds, cabin lease sites and trailheads on adjacent Forest Service lands, and furthered the use of these areas by private individuals traveling in their own vehicles. It effectively opened vehicular access to the recreational potential of the formerly remote Beartooth Plateau, created a new entrance to Yellowstone, and started the communities of Red Lodge and Cooke City, Montana, on their path to tourism-based economies.