State of the Lake top concerns:  According to the article by Lynnette Hintze in the Daily Inter Lake – ‘Whitefish Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual “State of the Lake” program to look at areas of concern about the quality of Whitefish Lake. Mike Koopal, director of Whitefish Lake Institute, said, ‘The lake is clean and “very pristine,” but compared to its historical past, there’s evidence of some degradation.’ There are three confirmed areas of septic leachate contamination including City Beach Bay, Viking Creek and Lazy Bay area. Pharmaceuticals in the water are another emerging issue. Slimy muck is evident along the shoreline. Eurasian water milfoil is a problem in Beaver Lake. Divers pulled out weeds and installed barriers in Flathead County. Clean up of Whitefish River by removing contaminated soil from BNSF RAilway Company. BNSF contractors removed 450 cubic yards of petroleum contaminated sediment from Whitefish Lake from 1989 train derailment where diesel fuel spill into Mackinaw Bay. Questions from audience on how to prevent future derailments. A maximum of 45 trains can travel through Whitefish in a 24 hour period. Trains are often longer than 112 cars. There were 63,000 visitors to Whitefish Lake State Park last year.Economic impact of state parks in Montana is $289 million with $122 million impact here in Flathead Valley.

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