Flathead Lake levels nearing low

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

There's an awful lot of beach showing on the North Shore these days, but experts say the lake is just doing what it does naturally.

Mark Lorang, a physical scientist at the University of Montana's Yellow Bay Biological Station, said the lake fluctuates naturally between 2,883 and 2,893 feet above sea level and that PPL Montana, who operate Kerr Dam, are trying to reflect that natural cycle.

What's more, Lorang said, is that during heavy snowpack years like this one, the lower the lake is, the more capacity it has to absorb the snowmelt and limit flooding risks.

Lake levels begin to drop gradually in the fall to mitigate damage to docks and shorelines that occur with the large waves that accompany early winter storms. When levels are dropped to 2,883 — where they are now — about a half mile of sandy beach is uncovered on the North Shore and a large promontory is created at the mouth of the Flathead River.

Lorang said that this is the lowest level reached by the lake in the last few years, but long-term it's an average drop.

"Average snow equals an average drop," he said, noting that the last few years the Flathead Basin has experienced below normal snowpack levels.