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2021 FLBS Annual Report:
Protecting the Future of Our Waters in the Flathead Watershed and Beyond
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The 2021 FLBS Annual Report is here! Check out this year's edition to read up on the many ways the Bio Station continued to achieve and rise to the challenges of an unprecedented year. Whether expanding our monitoring for Aquatic Invasive Species, finding innovative ways to engage K-12 schools, or conducting important research that impacts the world around us, we are honored to stand watch over this remarkable watershed because our Bio Station community is always at the very heart of everything that we do.
A tremendous thank you to all of the organizations, partners, and individuals who contributed to another amazing year at FLBS!
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Where the Rubber Meets the Road:
FLBS Environmental Law Internship and the Intersection of Science and Policy
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Thanks to a lead gift from Monte and Catherine Beck, FLBS and UM's Alexander Blewett III School of Law established the Bio Station Environmental Law Internship at FLBS in 2018. The aim of the summer-long internship is to expose UM natural resources and environmental law students to science and the research being conducted at FLBS, thereby enhancing their understanding of the natural world and their capabilities as future environmental lawyers. In her latest feature, 2021 Ted Smith Environmental Storytelling Intern Lena Beck checked in with several FLBS Environmental Law Interns to gain insight into their experiences with the program, learn how they've benefited from this unique interdisciplinary opportunity, and find out what they’re up to now.
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The interdisciplinary summer internship program at the Flathead Lake Biological Station provides students (both UM and non-UM) the opportunity to work at an internationally recognized research facility with world-class scientists. FLBS interns gain relevant work experience while receiving room and board and an hourly wage on the shores of beautiful Flathead Lake. Applications for undergraduate internships must be submitted no later than February 27.
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FLBS Alumni Making Waves:
Former Bio Station Student Working to Protect Mysterious Pacific Lamprey
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With icy-blue eyes and jawless, hook-toothed mouths, Pacific lamprey may seem like something out of a horror movie. In reality, there’s so much more to these prehistoric fish than their alien physique. Despite their smaller size, lampray maintain four times the calories and omega-3 fatty oils than salmon. They've also survived five mass extinctions and haven’t evolved since at least the Cretaceous Era. But these remarkable fish may not be long for the modern world. Dams, habitat degradation, and other factors have reduced returning lamprey numbers in some river basins from the millions to single digits.
Featured in High Country News, there are ongoing cooperative efforts in the Pacific Northwest between tribes , state and federal partners that are helping to better understand and conserve the Pacific lamprey—efforts that include the work of Kelly Coates, an FLBS alum who took our summer courses and then continued on with FLBS to get her Masters degree. A tribal member and Water and Environmental Resources Program manager with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians in Oregon, Coates and her team are conducting important work to help protect and monitor lamprey populations.
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Are you a college student interested in spending your summer gaining real-world research experiences while learning from world-class scientists in the Flathead Watershed? The FLBS Summer Academic Program offers low student-faculty ratio, great facilities, a dedicated support staff, outstanding instructors, and interdisciplinary research and education. To receive consideration for a scholarship, submit your scholarship application materials by no later than March 7, 2022.
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A Story of Ice and Water:
Flathead Lake Ice Coverage Depends on Series of Specific Conditions
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Weather events always play a big role in the stories of Montana. This is the land of Maclean’s heat wave summers, after all, the bleak and ominous winters of Welch. Spend enough time in this state and you’ll find that your own personal stories are suddenly and deeply interwoven with whatever is going on outside your front door. But among these climatic cornerstones of Montana lore, one seems to engage the interest of our local communities more than any other: The ever-elusive Flathead Lake Freeze.
In the latest FLBS Bigfork Eagle column, we dive deep into Flathead Lake’s icy history, exploring not only the incredibly specific conditions that need to be simultaneously met for Flathead Lake to freeze over completely, but also the important part meteorological events can play in the lives of the people who call this place home.
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Our Environment Matters:
FLBS Associate Director Tom Bansak Joins 2022 Community Lecture Series
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The UM Alumni Association’s 24th annual Community Lecture Series is underway. This year, FLBS Associate Director Tom Bansak will join five of UM’s finest professors to explore human impact on environmental sustainability. From the waters of Montana to the wildfires of the Northwest, this year’s series will showcase the exciting and rich research happening at the University of Montana. Q&A will be available following each presentation.
Join us for Tom's presentation, "Shrimp, Salmon and Trout: Invasive Chowder in Flathead Lake" on Tuesday, February 22 via Facebook Live on the University of Montana Alumni page. Missoula's public access television channel MCAT will also broadcast the lectures after the conclusion of the series. The MCAT broadcast schedule is forthcoming.
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