State, tribe pair to honor Flathead

BLUE BAY — Looking out over Flathead Lake on a gorgeous mid-September day, it’s interesting to imagine for the younger generation what it was like 30 years ago, both around the water and 200 feet deep below the surface.

Last Wednesday, students from six high schools around the area converged on Blue and Yellow bays on the lake’s east side to find out what they can do to honor and protect the lake for the upcoming decades during the Ninth Annual Flathead Lake Honoring event.

Sponsored by Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the event featured Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger and CSKT chairman James Steele Jr., and began with an honor song and invocation. Five of the ten CSKT tribal council members were present as well at an opening ceremony that saw Chairman Steele present Lt. Gov. Bohlinger with a special beaded bowtie, according to CSKT Information and Education specialist Germaine White.

“We’re so grateful for the interest by the state and tribal officials in working together on this event,” White said. “It really demonstrates  cooperation in education about fishery issues, especially with native fish restoration.”

The collaboration between the state and CSKT on this event is similar to the many highlighted in the recently released 2009 Tribal Relations Report. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer released the report to shed light on the continued improvement of state-tribal relations, which resulted in “more than 650 cooperative agreements, trainings, projects and collaborative efforts in effect between state government and the eight tribal governments in Montana during fiscal year 2009,” a press release said.  

The event also acted as an outdoor classroom for local students. Biology and science students from Polson, Ronan, Two Eagle River, Bigfork, Glacier and Flathead high schools were on hand to learn about fish and the lake ecology among other things during their visit to the Blue Bay Campground and Yellow Bay, the home of the University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station. Students visited stations at each site, which taught them more about a specific issue in a hands-on way, led by members of both CSKT and Montana FWP.

“We’re learning about the ecosystem of the lake and the history of the lake,” Two Eagle River senior Lonnie Old Shoes said while visiting stations at Yellow Bay. “We get to see how they catch the fish and how the ecologists do their jobs.”

The stations were varied, with each giving students a different perspective on the lake, its history and its importance to the ecology of the area now and in the future.

Jon Cavigli of FWP showed students how biologists use gill nets and a piece of equipment one Ronan student likened to that used by characters in the “Ghostbusters” movies to catch fish for research. The gill nets can be used all around the lake, from the shoreline to deeper water, while the “Ghostbusters”-like equipment is used in shallower water to shock and incapacitate for a few moments some of the 21 different species of fish found in Flathead Lake.

“We’re learning about what’s in the water and what’s healthy and what’s not healthy in the water,” Polson sophomore Destiny Kennedy said.

Using a slide-show presentation, Tribal Fisheries Biologist Barry Hanson explained to students how people need to honor the lake by not letting native fish, like bull and cutthroat trout, go extinct. Arrival of non-native species in Flathead Lake like lake trout and mysis shrimp have already led to the disappearance of kokanee salmon from the lake and forever changed the ecology of the lake, meaning that saving the native species still remaining is of utmost importance, according to Hanson. He said that despite contests like Mack Days that help catch more than 20,000 lake trout a year, native species continue to be threatened by these predacious fish.

Honoring the lake also includes being careful when out on the water. Water safety warden G.L. Hamilton of FWP stressed the importance of life jackets when out on the lake. He said that if he sees people wearing life jackets while on boats out on the lake, he’ll ride up and offer certificates for free ice cream cones.

In the end, John Fraley of FWP was happy students could come and celebrate an event that is both educational and an exciting partnership between the state and the Tribe.

“A high point for us is that we look at it as a flagship partnership between the FWP and the tribe,” Fraley said. “And who knows? Maybe a kid will want to become a warden or join the FWP or something.”

Some students found the presentations useful for another purpose all together.

“I like to fish every once in awhile,” Two Eagle River junior Trevor Butterfly said. “We get learn what the fish like and where the good fish will be.”