Voices of Our Lake

Voices of Our Lake i Funders & Supporters This project was made possible by the generous support of: Cadeau Foundation Whitefish Community Foundation WLI Members Authorship & Citation Whitefish Lake Institute, 2018.Voices of Our Lake. Whitefish, MT Copyright Whitefish Lake Institute, Whitefish, MT 2018 Front & Back Cover Photos gravityshots.com, Whitefish, MT Layout & Design eBizServices, Whitefish, MT Printing Towne Printer, Kalispell. MT Disclaimer: The views expressed in the vignettes are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Whitefish Lake Institute staff, board, committee members, or membership. Photo courtesy gravityshots.com ii Voices of Our Lake Photo courtesy gravityshots.com founded the Whitefish Lake Institute (WLI) in 2005 to give Whitefish Lake a voice. Its muted waters were undergoing increasing pressure and it needed I better understanding. After all, the lake provides a beautiful backdrop to our community while being a major economic driver. WLI’s role is to define the underpinnings of this lake-based ecosystem and to develop methods we can employ to manage and care for it. Through the years, WLI and project partnershave amassed a solid baseline awareness of the water quality and food web that shape the lake and local streams. In 2015, we compiled that information in one narrative—the Whitefish Area Water Resources Report: A Status of the Whitefish Lake Watershed and Surrounding area. This report and all its supporting resources are available at www.whitefishlake.org. Photo courtesy Whitefish Lake Institute In the report, the lake’s voice becomes clearer, revealing a unique record of trends and patterns – the result of natural forces and human actions that operate at time scales ranging from minutes to decades. These patterns clearly indicate that Whitefish Lake is a complex ecosystem, behaving in ways that cannot always be predicted. Between its covers, many questions are answered while others remain as challenges for us to solve. Some will never be understood and are left to the mysteries of the deep. Whitefish Lake’s voice now echoes in this publication through the vignettes submitted by community members that detail their diverse connections to the resource. Interwoven with their heartfelt ties to the lake are scientific observations. Ultimately, this publicationn is oneone ofo lessons learned, stewardship and hope. A hope that the lake’s reflection mirrors our community values in a new age of understanding.derstanding. Voices of Our Lake i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WLI provided the project deliverables. Additional funding was provided by the White- ong-term watershed level con- fish Community Foundation, servation requires a baseline of the Whitefish County Water L scientific, cultural, and historical District, the Cadeau Founda- knowledge of an area; an understanding of tion, and WLI members. its physical, biological, and chemical dynam- ics; and a program to monitor any changes The report received content over time from the baseline. With these ele- contributions from and was ments in place, adaptive management plans peer reviewed by scientists, and education programs can be created and educators, resource manag- implemented. ers, and policy makers. It was Whitefish Lake—July. Photo courtesy Walt Curtis distributed to all resource The Montana Department of Natural Re- management entities to increase our col- and we have set in motion important work sources & Conservation funded the devel- lective understanding of the resource and to address septic leachate pollution and opment of the Whitefish Lake Institute’s to make more informed resource manage- many other projects on Whitefish Lake. But (WLI’s) 2015 Whitefish Area Water Resources ment decisions. It is over 400 pages long it is the citizens of our community that hold Report: A Status of the Whitefish Lake Wa- and scientifically rich. With more than 340 the power to make a difference. Here in this tershed & Surrounding full color graphics and photos publication, we have all come together to Area. In that report, WLI and 24 fold-out maps it costs over support the common goal of appreciating processed and analyzed the $80 per unit to print and, given and protecting the health of the Whitefish data and information col- its weight, is costly to distribute. Lake Watershed. lected since 2007 through The full report is therefore avail- its core monitoring pro- able for viewing and downloading Watershed Restoration Plan Task Table from the WLI website. gram and assimilated his- One of the key deliverables of the Whitefish torical data from project Area Water Resources Report: A Status of the It is our hope that through Voices partners. Whitefish Lake Watershed and Surround- of Our Lake, we will successfully ing area is the Watershed Restoration Plan communicate some of the key find- The result is a complete (WRP) Task Table. This table contains a ings from the report while provid- water quality status report, comprehensive list of water quality issues, ing a place for citizens to share a Watershed Restoration concerns, and goals identified by WLI, proj- their stories and connections to the Plan, and a scientifically ect partners, and the public. It addresses the lake and the community. With rap- comprehensive founda- water quality objectives of federal and state idly increasing pressures on limited tion for long-term water agencies, assists the local community and water resources, WLI is foced on leading a quality management of the Whitefish Lake stakeholders in understanding water quality movement to protect our water quality from Watershed & Surrounding Area. The City of trends, and is intended to guide us in achiev- further decline. We are proactively combat- Whitefish sponsored the report, Anderson- ing our water quality goals. Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Inc. ting Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) through (AMCE) managed the contract work, and programming, partnerships and funding, ii Voices of Our Lake The WRP Task Table includes 64 items broken A “place” is not just where we live, but how down into major categories including: City of we live, work and play. It is where we develop Whitefish – Policy & Government, Education a sense of belonging, and its distinctiveness & Outreach, Research, Restoration & Habitat informs our viewpoints. “Living in place” Protection, and Miscellaneous. Each of the 64 requires a culture of coexistence—a water quality improvement task items were balancing of human prerequisites and desires ranked relative to one another by the WLI Sci- with the needs of non-human inhabitants ence Advisory Committee and then priority and local environmental factors. ranked as Tier I, II, & III. Whereas this priority ranking provided information for WLI and Older folks who have lived in Whitefish project partners to pursue projects, it does not for their entire lives reminisce about a preclude the completion of lower ranked proj- place less inhabited, less developed, and ects if funding availability or unique partner- less visited. Younger folks who grew up ships make them timely to complete. or moved here brag about a place rich in history yet endowed with modernism. And The WRP Task Table is paired with adaptive LORI CURTIS visitors describe our town with accolades, management strategies to estimate project Science and Education Director, appreciation, and envy. From all perspectives, costs and to identify funding sources, activi- :KLWH¿VK/DNH,QVWLWXWH Whitefish has a big personality. From its ties, and timelines for meeting local water wild peaks to its engineered parks, it is full of quality benchmarks. However, there is un- Professor Emeritus of Landscape wonders to be discovered and histories to be certainty in predicting future political, social Architecture Robert L. Thayer wrote,“Life- made. and environmental conditions and how water place culture, I think, is not a concept to be quality could be affected. The WRP is designed grasped hard by a tightly clenched fist; rather, To me, Whitefish Lake is the heartbeat of to be used over a five-year period (2016-2020) it must be held lightly and balanced in the this exceptional place. It is also the focus of at which time a review will be required. It palm of an open hand. It also requires the my work—the subject of my research, the serves as a central record of projects that re- joining of many hands—the active engagement topic of my educational programs, and the quire the collective attention of local, state and of student hands raised in question, of clasped leitmotif of my writing. I feel privileged to federal resource managers, as well as citizens. hands around shovels, of cradled hands call Whitefish my home and to share it with We hope this work will also serve to further around new seedlings, of hands shaking in the many appreciative people whose voices the cultural understanding of “place” in the agreement, of hands patting people on the can be heard in this publication. Whitefish area. We welcome you to review the back, of hands raised in celebration.” WRP Task Table on our website at www.whitefish lake.org. Click on Watershed Report, then Addendum XXIII. Photo courtesy gravityshots.com Voices of Our Lake iii LIST OF VOICES VIGNETTES LIST OF FIGURES Charlie Abell ....................................19 Figure 1. Bathymetric Map of Whitefish Lake. Cour- Koel Abell .........................................26 tesy Constellation Services, Mark Reller, MarksLake- Morie Adams-Griffin ........................5 Maps.com .........................................................................2

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