FLBS - Flathead Lake Biological Station, The University of Montana

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FLBS - Flathead Lake Biological Station, The University of Montana FLBS is an ecological research & education center located on Flathead Lake in Northwest Montana Keeping Flathead blue since 1899.

FLBS is a great place for immersive outdoor courses in all domains of field ecology, with research focused on lakes, streams, and rivers in Montana and worldwide.

Last Friday, we had the honor of unveiling a custom FLBS Monte Dolack painting during the FLBS Gala to celebrate the app...
10/15/2026

Last Friday, we had the honor of unveiling a custom FLBS Monte Dolack painting during the FLBS Gala to celebrate the approaching culmination of the FLBS125 Initiative fundraising campaign and a decade of accomplishment under the leadership of FLBS Director Jim Elser and FLBS Education Liaison Monica Elser.

Titled “Seen and Unseen”, the Dolack painting was made possible thanks to FLBS friends and donors Tom and Mary Lou Stergios, and features accurate representations of Flathead Lake’s microbial organisms that play a vital role in the health of our waters and ecosystems. If you look closely, you may even catch a glimpse of another more legendary Flathead Lake creature lurking somewhere in the portrait…

In addition to the Dolack unveiling, a number of FLBS125 Initiative achievements were also noted during the Gala, beginning with the announcement that FLBS125 has raised over $14M so far, exceeding the original FLBS125 goal of $12.5M! Additional achievements highlighted during the event included the creation of new impactful student opportunities, meaningful funding to sustain the FLARE K-12 education program, and critical investment in FLBS monitoring in the Flathead Watershed and beyond.

The evening was another wonderful reminder that we are so fortunate to conduct meaningful research, monitoring, and education programs surrounded by such a generous and supportive Bio Station community. You make it an honor to serve as your world-class biological station on the shores of Flathead Lake as we all work together to keep our waters clean and blue for generations to come.

A tremendous thank you to Flathead Harbor in Lakeside, MT for hosting us and providing a wonderful setting and service for our event. Stay tuned in the coming months for information about how you can purchase a limited edition signed Monte Dolack FLBS “Seen and Unseen” print (just in time for the holiday season)!

In the meantime, it’s not too late to join the FLBS125 Initiative and make an immediate impact on the future of our waters. For more info, contact FLBS Director of Development Kylie Schumacher or visit the FLBS Website at https://flbs.umt.edu/support-flbs

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We are excited to announce that, after three long years of repairs, our iconic FLBS buoy is back delivering real-time Fl...
10/05/2026

We are excited to announce that, after three long years of repairs, our iconic FLBS buoy is back delivering real-time Flathead Lake conditions to our website!

A huge thank you to FLBS IT Administrator Jeremy Nigon for getting the buoy’s environmental sensors online, and to FLBS Maintenance Supervisor Reggie Heiser and FLBS Maintenance Technician Haden Jaeger who assisted FLBS Director in getting the buoy back into its proper Midlake Deep location in Flathead Lake.

Visit the FLBS Website to check out the live data, which includes Lake Level, Air Temperature, Water Temperature, Wind Speed and Direction, and more!

FLBS Website: https://flbs.umt.edu

FLBS Flathead Lake Conditions and Weather Data: https://apps.flbs.umt.edu/weather/

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Ever wondered what a summer class is like for FLBS students? Join 2026 FLBS Ted Smith Environmental Storytelling Intern ...
09/30/2026

Ever wondered what a summer class is like for FLBS students?

Join 2026 FLBS Ted Smith Environmental Storytelling Intern Vivianne Ostheimer as she goes ventures into the field with the 2026 FLBS Conservation Ecology class, providing a detailed perspective of the experiential learning happening at FLBS each summer!

Get the full story via the link in our bio or at https://flbs.umt.edu/flbs-news/learning-by-doing-at-flbs/

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📸 Vivi

Owl season has returned to FLBS!The Owl Research Institute (ORI) (ORI) started their annual Northern Saw-whet Owl Fall M...
09/28/2026

Owl season has returned to FLBS!

The Owl Research Institute (ORI) (ORI) started their annual Northern Saw-whet Owl Fall Migration study at Flathead Lake on September 8. The season has already started off strong, with the banding station averaging 10 owls per night (that’s more than in any of last 4 seasons at this site), and ORI biologists have also recently banded their 100th owl at FLBS!

Be sure to follow the Owl Research Institute and FLBS on social media for updates throughout the fall season.

All banding, marking and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the US Geological Survey’s BBL.

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📸 Owl Research Institute (ORI)

Introducing our 2026 FLBS Open AIR Fall Artists-in-Residence!For more information, visit the Open AIR website at https:/...
09/25/2026

Introducing our 2026 FLBS Open AIR Fall Artists-in-Residence!

For more information, visit the Open AIR website at https://www.openairmt.org/copy-current-artists

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Jordan and Logan Lefler are filmmakers and photographers from the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. Descendants of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, their work honors the connection between people, land, and story. Through their lens, they explore themes of culture, conservation, and identity—using film and photography to amplify Indigenous voices and celebrate the resilience of their community. Their projects include films on cultural revitalization, mental health advocacy, and the restoration of tribal lands such as the CSKT Bison Range. Rooted in reverence for nature, their work seeks to preserve stories that connect generations.

Anna Moore is an interdisciplinary graphic designer and maker with a focus on print design, illustration, and creative research who finds inspiration in the outdoors and various scientific fields. Moore’s work comes from a place of wanting to help people learn about subjects that they may not consider otherwise. Finding ways to engage people in fields like botany, astronomy, or geology through graphic design and tactile art is at the root of her work. Moore wants to bring out curiosity and a sense of play in others, all while teaching them something new.

Tammy West’s work sits at the nexus of site-specific environmental art, installations, and photography, exploring issues like climate change, and species decline. Through her work, she strives to create work that elicits emotions connecting to issues of our day. She has attended artist residencies in Iceland, Oregon, Connecticut & Ireland. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including on a billboard in NYC, the South LA Contemporary, the Peninsula Museum of Art, Platform 3 Gallery in Iran, and at the UN Climate talks in Germany, Chile & France, and featured in the 5th USA National Climate Assessment and exhibited in the White House.

Forest Woodward is a visual artist based in Missoula, Montana. He received his MFA in Photography from the University of Hartford (‘22). His practice is rooted in his visceral connection and immersive approach to moving through landscape. His work is informed by time spent inhabiting edgelands, places where the shifting currents of human presence and absence are etched in the landscapes. Combining analog photographic process, book form, and land-based installations, his work explores questions around ideas of permanence, control, and the ways in which we shape and are shaped by the ecosystems we inhabit

The Flathead Lake Biological Station has announced a search for a new director. This position will build upon the Statio...
09/21/2026

The Flathead Lake Biological Station has announced a search for a new director. This position will build upon the Station’s distinguished history of groundbreaking research and impactful educational initiatives, while charting a vision for the future.

The search follows Jim Elser’s decision to retire after a decade of transformative leadership in which he contributed an impressive legacy of excellence and innovation in ecological research and education.

The FLBS Director position provides strategic, scientific, and academic leadership for FLBS, advancing its mission in aquatic research and education. The position offers a unique opportunity to lead a nationally significant field station at the interface of science, education and community engagement.
 
Read the Full Position Description at the UM employment site: https://apply.interfolio.com/192695

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At the end of the summer, FLBS scientists returned to the ocean, this time in the North Atlantic.The ocean margins are s...
09/14/2026

At the end of the summer, FLBS scientists returned to the ocean, this time in the North Atlantic.

The ocean margins are some of Earth’s most biologically productive regions but are poorly represented in global climate and carbon cycle models. As the nexus between land, nearshore ecosystems and the open water column of the ocean, these regions are sensitive to biogeochemical impacts that have cascading effects on ecosystem functioning and ocean health, both locally and globally. At the same time, they provide critical ecosystem services to coastal populations.

Working in collaboration with 50 international researchers from 15 universities and science institutions, FLBS Professor Matt Church and FLBS Research Technician Katie Coates are making an impact through the Ocean Margins Initiative (OMI).

Thanks to support from Schmidt Sciences’ Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute, the overarching goal of OMI is to assess and incorporate the effects of an upwelling coastal margin on the basin-wide biogeochemistry.

The study will also assess global and local effects on the coastal zone, which directly impacts coastal societies. Though the research will focus on one site, the longer-term view is to create a framework that can be applied to other regions.

For more info about the initiative, visit the OMI website at https://oceanmargins.org

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Thank you Grizzlies for another amazing University of Montana Welcome Feast! We can’t wait to see all the amazing things...
09/04/2026

Thank you Grizzlies for another amazing University of Montana Welcome Feast! We can’t wait to see all the amazing things you’re about to accomplish this year. We’ll be cheering you on from the shores of Flathead Lake! Go Griz!

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32125 Bio Station Lane
Polson, MT
59860

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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