Adopt-A-Lake Program

Our lakes are the center of our community. We fish, swim, and play in them. They provide water for our town. The wildlife we love are dependent on them. Our lakes are the center of tourism, our local economy, and our way of life.

Unfortunately, we do not know much about our lakes. The agencies responsible for keeping track of the health of our lakes are overwhelmed, but Clearwater Resource Council is helping!

The Adopt-a-Lake program was initiated late in 2008 with the first full season in 2009 on Seeley Lake, Salmon Lake, Placid Lake, Lake Alva, Lake Inez, Rainy Lake, Clearwater Lake and Big Sky Lake. The purpose of the programs is to collect simple, but universally used measures of water clarity. These measures are indicative of the amount of algae production in the lakes. Some algae growth is necessary to provide food at the bottom of the food chain. Too much algae, though, causes undesireable changes in water quality. For those interested, the sampling and analysis plan (SAP) and the yearly reports are available at the links below.

The summer of 2023 was the fifteenth full season of data collection. A special Thank You to Jim Best and his son Zack Best, who often helped with lake water monitoring. Jim also launched his boat on some lakes which was a big help in completing the monitoring. We could not accomplish programs like this without volunteers.

 
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We'd like to express appreciation to various volunteers who have helped out over the years:
•   Suzanne Esber, Jeff and Cathy Harrits - Big Sky (including 2023)
•   Ted and Karen Linford - Seeley
•   Roger Marshall, Paula Clark - Alva
•   Sylvia, Adam, Sam and Pam Weisenburger - Inez
•   Sam McCarthy - Inez
•   Dennis Ralston - Rainy and Clearwater
•   Chris and Carol Hunter - Salmon
•   Joann and David Wallenburn -- Quality Control and more

Plans for CRC staff to do lake monitoring in 2024 are underway, and more volunteers to support these efforts are always welcome. If you'd like to offer your support in gathering information about our lakes, please contact Jon Haufler ( jon@crcmt.org). We collect data May through October each year and would value your help.

Lake Reports to review

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Mailing address: Clearwater Resource Council, P.O. Box 1471, Seeley Lake, MT 59868
Office Location: 3166 MT Hwy 83, Ste 202, Seeley Lake, MT 59868 (in the Bison & Bear Center)
For additional information contact Jon Haufler ( jon@crcmt.org)
or by phone: 406-677-0069 (CRC Office)