Flathead Lakers keeping busy at new base on the shore

Since 1958, the nonprofit Flathead Lakers have been working with the community to protect Flathead Lake and its watershed, and to keep it clean for generations to come. They emphasize that the lake is a resource we can all enjoy. With care and understanding, “We can keep from loving it to death,” Executive Director Kate Sheridan said.

The “Lakers” amalgamate a large membership of lake-lovers from all economic means and viewpoints, from scientists and celebrities to homeowners, businesses, boaters and those who just love to play in the lake. Sheridan is herself a competitive open-water swimmer, coached by Polson’s own Mark Johnston, who counts herself lucky being able to work advocating for the very lake where she trains.

“We see ourselves as a catalyst for environmental protection, helping ensure this place stays clean so we can all swim and fish and drink from this lake. But we also see ourselves as an integral part of the community,” Sheridan said. “We can work to bring people together.”

The Lakers moved into a new headquarters a month or so before the pandemic hit, so “bringing people together,” has been somewhat on hold. But for the first time, they are now based at the water’s edge, downstairs from Fiesta en Jalisco Restaurant on Main Street, which Sheridan described as a “real treat.”

With pandemic isolation requirements potentially easing, Sheridan said they may soon be able to resume “Citizen Science” educational programs for students and adults.

“We love to train people on how to collect data in their own backyard or off their own dock,” she said. Many of these “citizen scientists” are now collecting samples of periphyton, the ecological “goop” on rocks that is critical to the food chain, and searching for any signs of invasive mussels.

While they often hold events in coordination with Flathead Lake Biological Station, with the new office location, “Now we will be able to have them come here, too, and directly interact with the water,” Sheridan said. “We just want science to be accessible to everyone whether they have a Ph.D. or no science background at all.”

Other ideas are growing, too, such as bike and boat tours.

“As soon as we’re at a point where it’s safe to gather again, we are ready.”

In the meantime, the Lakers have stayed busy, especially with the recent real estate boom.

“We are welcoming a new wave of folks to Montana, especially people escaping big cities,” Sheridan said. “We help to ensure people moving here understand what it means to live on a lake and how to do so in a way that doesn’t harm the lake’s ecosystem,”

“Many homes are on old septic systems that are not effectively treating wastewater, and a lot of people moving here have never had a septic system,” Sheridan said. “They aren’t used to having to consider what happens once something is flushed down the drain.”

Studies have documented septic leachate as a main source of non-point-source pollution in the lake.

The group advocates for proper infrastructure installation in developments, and offers information on how to bring old septic systems up to date and keep them well maintained. Board member Steve Rosso, a former engineer, collaborates with staff member Hilary Devlin to write informative, but light-hearted, septic articles for the group’s quarterly newsletter and website: flatheadlakers.org/undertanding-septic-system.

The Lakers partner with the Bio Station to sponsor “Science on Tap,” a popular series of educational talks by area scientists at local brew pubs. During the pandemic, they have gone virtual. Many of their talks are available on YouTube, including the most recent with Dr. Jay Evans of the Vaccine Discovery and Development Team at University of Montana, who has contributed to current SARS-CoV-2 vaccine developments.

In another cooperative effort, the Lakers are raising funds to help Flathead Land Trust purchase Badrock Canyon Conservation Project, a 772-acre wild space upstream from the lake, outside of Columbia Falls. The Lakers have been interested in preserving this special place for at least 20 years, Sheridan said. The site has cultural significance to local Tribes, and is important “for sustaining clean water, … providing vital habitat and travel corridors for bull trout and grizzly bears, winter range for elk and moose, and a stop for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds,” the Lakers’ website says. The site will be managed by MT FWP for multiple uses including trails for hikers, bikers, birdwatchers, and disabled hunters.

For more information about the Flathead Lakers, stop by the office, call 883-1346 or visit flatheadlakers.org.