Zinke’s Fill the Lake Act met with mixed reactions
The clear waters of Flathead Lake ripple along the rocky shoreline of the Wayfarers unit of Flathead Lake State Park on Friday, Oct. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Shortly after Rep. Ryan Zinke introduced legislation aimed at keeping Flathead Lake at full pool during the height of summer, operators of the SKQ Dam called the congressman’s proposal unworkable.
“It really is not something in my mind that is doable,” said Brian Lipscomb, CEO of Energy Keepers, Inc., which operates the SKQ Dam on the southern end of Flathead Lake for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
The Fill the Lake Act, introduced into the House of Representatives on Nov. 15, would direct the Interior Department to maintain water levels in the lake between 2,892 and 2,893 feet from June 15 to Sept. 15. Zinke crafted the legislation following a summer that saw Flathead Lake fall more than two feet below full pool.
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