The Flathead Lakers provide leadership in the protection of Flathead Lake and its tributaries through our Stewardship Program. We encourage individual and collective stewardship and a watershed approach to resource management, land use planning, and water quality protection.
This collaborative project to identify, protect and restore lands and waters critical to water quality is the centerpiece of our Stewardship Program. Go to Critical Lands home page.
This education project encourages lakeshore and streamside property owners to maintain or plant native vegetation buffer strips between lawns, roads, buildings and the water to help prevent polluted runoff from reaching Flathead Lake and its tributaries.
 | The Flathead Lakers developed a watershed education program to increase students' understanding of the physical, biological and social components of the Flathead Watershed and their interconnections. The skills, knowledge and understanding the students acquire through the program will help them understand the consequences of the choices they make in the future that affect their communities and the watershed.
| | Left. Third grade students look at aquatic insects in a laboratory at the Flathead Lake Biological Station. |
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Haphazard growth and development are a major threat to maintaining and improving water quality in the Flathead Watershed. The Flathead Lakers encourage incorporating water quality protection provisions in land use policies, zoning regulations, neighborhood, county, and city growth plans and major development proposals. The Flathead Lakers participate in the Montana Smart Growth Coalition to explore methods and tools to accommodate growth while maintaining environmental quality. The Smart Growth Coalition is a network of organizations and individuals from across Montana who share a commitment to safe and healthy communities, sustainable economies, conservation of farm, forest and ranch lands, and protection of natural resources and wildlife habitat.
Monitoring tells us how clean Flathead Lake and its tributaries are and warns us when problems arise so actions to correct them can be taken. Flathead Lake and its tributaries have been monitored by University of Montana Flathead Lake Biological Station scientists for over two decades, one of the longest lake monitoring records in the nation. Stable funding is needed for this essential program. The Flathead Lakers continue to seek short-term and long-term solutions to ensure that adequate funding provides for continued monitoring. Links:
During 2001, the multi-year drought resulted in Flathead Watershed streamflows that were not sufficient to satisfy all demands for water, including generating electric power, maintaining and restoring healthy fisheries, irrigation and water-based recreation. The scarcity of water initiated a contest over its allocation. That contest was complicated by conflicting and inaccurate stream flow and lake level predictions. It would not have been necessary had the drought management plan for Kerr Dam, required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license, been in place. The Flathead Lakers continue to insist that a drought management plan be developed with full public review and input. The plan must address environmental and economic impacts and local concerns, and be based on flood rule curves that provide the highest probability of attaining both lake refill objectives and minimum flow requirements in the lower Flathead River. Learn more by going to our lake levels main page and clicking on the drought management plan link.
The Flathead Lakers formed a Personal Watercraft (PWC) Task Force to investigate problems associated with PWC (such as pollution, noise, safety, wildlife harassment) and recommend measures to mitigate those problems. Recommendations of the Task Force were approved by the board of directors. Through the volunteer Task Force, the Flathead Lakers are implementing projects to better inform PWC and boat owners and renters about boating rules and regulations, improve enforcement of those rules, and encourage other measures to reduce boating conflicts. A report describing these problems was produced by the task force in 2001.
In response to two incidents of commercial boat oil spills into Flathead Lake during summer, 2001, the Flathead Lakers are researching strategies to improve policies to help prevent and clean-up toxic materials spills. We also plan to investigate the adequacy of existing response and cleanup protocols, as well as of communication and cooperation across jurisdictions. Education and Outreach
The Flathead Lakers informs the public and our membership about vital issues that affect Flathead Lake and how to protect water quality. We publish three newsletters a year plus an annual report. We conduct an annual meeting for our members and the public which includes the "State of the Lake" report by Flathead Lake Biological Station Director Jack Stanford. Flathead Lakers' staff and board members give presentations to civic groups. The Flathead Lakers participate in the annual Flathead Lake Honoring event sponsored by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The Lakers have an active public affairs program for outreach to public officials and the media on issues that affect water quality and Flathead Lake. Help protect the Quality of Flathead Lake: Join the Flathead Lakers
For comments and questions please write to lakers@flatheadlakers.org or call (406) 883-1346. Top of Page. | 
