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==Management==
The Flathead River and the [[Swan River (Montana)|Swan River]] (known also as the Bigfork River where it enters the lake) are the major [[tributary|tributaries]] of the five tributaries that are within the Flathead Watershed. Numerous small streams flow into the lake, particularly on the wetter east shore.{{r|flbs}} The [[
The lake is downstream of [[Hungry Horse Dam]] on the [[South Fork Flathead River]].<ref>{{Cite press release |date=July 7, 2023 |title=Reclamation's operation of Hungry Horse Dam |url=https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/4576 |access-date=2023-07-19 |publisher=Bureau of Reclamation |language=en}}</ref> The Hungry Horse Dam is managed by the [[Bureau of Reclamation]] to provide beneficial flow conditions and to provide safe passage for migrating juvenile fish to reach the [[Columbia River Estuary]] and the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-10 |title=Federal Columbia River Power System Water Management |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/federal-columbia-river-power-system-water-management |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=NOAA Fisheries |language=en}}</ref> The Columbia River Technical Management Team makes operational recommendations to the agencies that control federal dams. Made up of representatives from four states, five federal agencies and six tribal nations, it prioritizes fish and wildlife above other system benefits.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Drew |first=Micah |date=2023-07-15 |title=Technical Team Rejects Request to Raise Flathead Lake Levels with Hungry Horse Release |url=https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/07/15/no-action-taken-on-low-flathead-lake-levels-hungry-horse-reservoir/ |access-date=2023-07-19 |work=Flathead Beacon |language=en}}</ref> The Columbia River system has 14 projects that must be operated to meet congressionally authorized purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baldwin |first=Matt |date=2024-03-16 |title=Flathead Basin dam operators defend management decisions |url=https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2024/mar/16/flathead-basin-dam-operators-defend-management-decisions/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=Daily Inter Lake |language=en}}</ref>
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Once known as "Salish Lake", this body of water was named for the [[Flathead Indians|Salish Indians]]. Early European explorers, like [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]], called them the Flathead Indians because of a misinterpretation of early [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Native American sign language]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Partoll|first1=Albert|title=The Flathead-Salish Indian Name in Montana Nomenclature|journal=[[Montana: The Magazine of Western History]]|date=1951|volume=1|issue=1|pages=37–47}}</ref> In 1855 the United States (US) made the [[Treaty of Hellgate]], by which it set aside the Flathead Reservation solely for use of the Flathead, encompassing an area including much of Flathead Lake.
The summer of 2023 saw abnormally low water levels.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Heston |first=Kate |date=2023-11-15 |title=Zinke introduces legislation to regulate Flathead Lake water levels |url=https://dailyinterlake.com/news/2023/nov/15/federal-legislation-introduced-to-regulate-flathead-lake-levels/ |access-date=2023-11-15 |work=Daily Inter Lake |language=en}}</ref> Variations to the Flood Risk Management Plan were approved by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in 2024 in response to the continuing dry conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-05-24 |title=Corps removes Flathead Lake level restrictions |url=https://nbcmontana.com/news/local/corps-removes-flathead-lake-level-restrictions |access-date=2024-05-25 |website=KECI NBC Montana |language=en}}</ref>
==Fauna==
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The non-native [[Mysida|opossum shrimp]], (''Mysis diluviana''), were introduced by Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Flathead [[drainage basin]] to encourage production of larger kokanee salmon; they migrated into Flathead Lake and have altered the ecosystem.<ref name="Bosworth">{{cite web | url=http://newwest.net/topic/article/how_non_native_shrimp_transformed_the_ecosystem_at_montanas_flathead_lake/C41/L41/ | last=Bosworth | first=Brendan | title=How Non-Native Shrimp Transformed The Ecosystem at Montana's Flathead Lake | access-date=15 December 2016}}</ref>
Fishermen had introduced lake trout 80 years prior{{when|date=July 2023}} to the introduction of opossum shrimp, but they remained at low densities until the non-native Mysis became established. The bottom-dwelling mysids eliminated a recruitment bottleneck for lake trout by providing a deep water source of food where little was available previously. Lake trout subsequently flourished on mysids; this voracious piscivore now dominates the lake fishery. The formerly abundant [[Kokanee salmon|kokanee]] were extirpated, and native bull and westslope cutthroat trout are imperiled. Predation by Mysis has shifted [[zooplankton]] and [[phytoplankton]] community size structure. Bayesian change point analysis of primary productivity (27-y time series) showed a significant step increase of 55 mg C m−2 d−1 (i.e., 21% rise) concurrent with the mysid invasion, but little trend before or after despite increasing nutrient loading. Mysis facilitated predation by lake trout and indirectly caused the collapse of kokanee, redirecting energy flow through the ecosystem that would otherwise have been available to other top predators (bald eagles).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ellis|first1=B. K.|last2=Stanford|first2=J. A.|last3=Goodman|first3=D.|last4=Stafford|first4=C. P.|last5=Gustafson|first5=D. L.|last6=Beauchamp|first6=D. A.|last7=Chess|first7=D. W.|last8=Craft|first8=J. A.|last9=Deleray|first9=M. A.|last10=Hansen|first10=B. S.|title=Long-term effects of a trophic cascade in a large lake ecosystem|journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]|date=3 January 2011|volume=108|issue=3|pages=1070–1075|doi=10.1073/pnas.1013006108|pmid=21199944|pmc=3024674|bibcode=2011PNAS..108.1070E|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Like the majority of other nonnative species, the [[lake trout]] (''Salvelinus namaycush'') became established in the lake from the late 1800s-early 1900s. The introduction of lake trout has placed increased pressure on the ecologically similar threatened native [[bull trout]] (''Salvelinus confluentus'').<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1139/f2011-177|title = Mechanisms of coexistence between native [[bull trout]] (Salvelinus confluentus) and non-native lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush): Inferences from pattern-oriented modeling|journal = Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences|volume = 69|issue = 4|pages = 755–769|year = 2012|last1 = Ferguson|first1 = Jake M.|last2 = Taper|first2 = Mark L.|last3 = Guy|first3 = Christopher S.|last4 = Syslo|first4 = John M.}}</ref> The semi-annual "Mack Days" Lake Trout fishing contest aims to reduce the non-native "Mackinaw trout" or lake trout populations, as well as educate people about the Flathead Lake Fisheries Management Plan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://missoulian.com/news/local/fall-mack-days-starts-this-weekend-at-flathead-lake/article_201a1dd6-7ca6-5c1f-85c8-b50579375e3b.html|title=Fall Mack Days starts this weekend at Flathead Lake |last=Backus|first=Perry|date=September 23, 2017|work=[[Missoulian]]|access-date=2017-09-24|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mackdays.com/|title=Lake Trout Fishing|website=Mack Days|access-date=2017-09-24}}</ref> Since the inception of this event in 2002, over 402,000 lake trout have been harvested.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mackdays.com/management/biology/|title=Lake Trout Biology|website=Mack Daysm|access-date=2017-09-24}}</ref>
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