2022

• Conducted a Synthetic DNA study for septic leachate source tracking in partnership with the Flathead Basin Commission and Cornell University.
• Installed a lake elevation sensor that reports lake levels in real time and pairs a predictive lake elevation model that will help the City and shore owners understand the effects of climate change on future lake levels.    
• Collected sediment cores from Whitefish and Tally Lakes as the start to a paleolimnological study (history of the lake and watershed as told by sediments). Contract project with the Univ. of Regina.
• Presented a poster at the National Science Foundation Smart & Connected Communities Conference in Washington, D.C.
• Upgraded the Whitefish Lake AIS Decontamination Station to a solar powered, on-demand, hot water pressure washer at City Beach with funding from a Montana Invasive Species Council grant.
• Curley-Leaf Pond Weed is discovered in Haskill Creek by the W

2021

• Whitefish City Council passes a resolution to phase in use of non-perchlorate fireworks for public displays based upon a 2019 whitepaper published by WLI.
• Investigated social aspect of the septic leachate issue with funds from a National Science Foundation Smart and Connected Communities grant 
• Governor Gianforte appoints Mike Koopal to the Water Pollution Control Advisory Council (WPCAC) to review state water quality standards
• Trained and equipped 7 new volunteers with AIS monitoring kits through the Upper Columbia Lakes Network. From July through September 2021, twelve volunteers collect 27 samples from 14 lakes. All samples tested negative for invasive mussel veligers.
• The Science and Education Director, Lori Curtis, retires after 10 years of service to WLI
• WLI creates a Finance and Grants Manager position filled by Carol Treadwell 

2020

• Completed riparian restoration on two stream reaches of Cow Creek in partnership with the Flathead Conservation District
• Installed the AIS preventative decontamination station at City Beach Overflow Parking with funding and support from project partners:  The City, MT FWP, FCD, Whitefish Community Foundation
• Initiated a comprehensive inventory and threat assessment of septic systems in the Flathead Basin using GIS mapping in partnership with the Flathead Basin Commission
• Conducted a economic study of the impact and benefits that Whitefish and Flathead Lakes have on the local economy in partnership with the FLBS and funding from the Cadeau Foundation.

2019

• Hosted a successful inaugural Montana Lakes Conference attended by 175 scientists, natural resource managers and community members
• Held the first Science Quencher speaker series – an event to engage community members with lightning rod science talks from local scientists, educators, and authors
• WLI long-term data is made available for the first time from the Montana DEQ database 
• First year of the Upper Columbia Lakes Network (UCLN) to engage new volunteer groups in monitoring local waters for AIS 
• After discovering and managing Eurasian Watermilfoil in Beaver Lake for 8 years WLI transfers responsibility for direct management to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
• WLI partners with Flathead Conservation District to restore Cow Creek using riparian plantings, hardened crossings, and weed control measures on two properties along Cow Creek in Whitefish.  Other partners include: MT FWP, River Design Group, Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Montana, and the City of Whitefish 
• Governor Bullock appoints Mike Koopal and Lori Curtis to the Upper Columbia Conservation Commission

2018

• Published Voices of Our Lake, a full color publication filled with vignettes from respected community members, their histories and personal connection to Whitefish Lake and the surrounding area
• WLI begins working on the septic leachate issue on a statewide basis by elevating the discussion to state officials and contributing to a draft study bill
• WLI participates in the Rangewide Bull Trout eDNA project by collecting samples from local streams
• Mike Koopal is appointed by Governor Bullock to the Flathead Basin Commission. Mike becomes member of the Executive Committee

2017

• Implemented a comprehensive Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) program “Our Lake Our Future” in partnership with the City of Whitefish and Montana State Parks. Two watercraft inspection stations and a preventative hot water flush/decontamination station for high-risk watercraft are developed. Exit seals and on-line certification for specific user groups are implemented.
• Purchased a watercraft decontamination unit with a major grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation.  In its first two years the decontamination unit is located off Hwy. 93 in south Whitefish.  
• Worked with the Lion Mountain neighborhood group to broker a solution to the septic leachate issue bringing assistance from the City and TIP funding as an incentive to have that neighborhood connect to city sewer.  
• Co-coordinate the third edition of the Montana Lake Book
• First year of the Ripple Effect Scholarship Program for high school students entering college and majoring in natural resource management. 
• For the second time, WLI is awarded the Russ and Mary Jane Street Community Service Award by the Whitefish Community Foundation

2016

• Zebra mussels are detected in Tiber Reservoir, Montana. WLI leads the local effort to prevent their spread to Whitefish Lake and participates in regional and statewide efforts
• Mike Koopal and Lori Curtis present papers at the North American Lake Management Society International Symposium in Banff, Canada
• The East Lakeshore neighborhood Project Engineering Report (PER) is completed with WLI bringing together partners and grant funding to complete the project
• Biological monitoring program for Whitefish Lake is ramped up to include sampling Periphyton, and Mysis shrimp populations, thanks to grants from the Cadeau Foundation and Whitefish Community Foundation 
• WLI makes infrastructure improvements to the Living Wetlands Interpretive Nature Trail via a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Recreational Trails Program grant

2015

• WLI turns 10!
• The Whitefish Area Water Resources Report: A Status of the Whitefish Lake Watershed and Surrounding Area is published by WLI. This comprehensive report is available to the public and resource managers.
• A Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the Lion Mountain Neighborhood is completed with WLI as the facilitator. The City of Whitefish adopted a resolution to approve the Whitefish Community Wastewater Committee Management Plan with WLI as the project facilitator.
• 58 years of Whitefish Lake elevation data is synthesized and analyzed by WLI.
• Connie Chung highlights the Whitefish Wine Auction as Master of Ceremonies
• WLI successfully participates in the Whitefish Community Foundation’s first Great Fish Challenge

2014

• First WLI Progress Report including a historical timeline since its inception
• Bigfork Stormwater Project Final Report authored by WLI
• Swan Lake Water Quality Investigation Final Report by WLI
• Cow Creek, Haskill Creek, and Walker Creek are added to WLI’s baseline monitoring program
• Collected data to inform the City of Whitefish Nutrient Trading Plan
• WLI moves to a new location: 550 East 1st Street #103 in downtown Whitefish
• WLI is awarded the inaugural Russ and Mary Jane Street Community Service Award by the Whitefish Community Foundation

2013

• WLI’s Living Wetlands Interpretive Nature Trail opens after years of fundraising and construction. 
• WLI drafts the first Whitefish Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Management Plan that is adopted by the Whitefish City Council
• The Whitefish Community Wastewater Committee, facilitated by WLI, submits a management plan to Whitefish City Council
• Beaver Creek added to the WLI baseline monitoring program
• Completed a 400-point aquatic plant survey of the Whitefish Lake shoreline
• The City of Whitefish selects an engineering firm to mitigate gasoline constituents at the City Beach boat ramp

2012

• Wrote seminal report: Investigation of Septic Leachate to the Shoreline Area of Whitefish Lake, Montana and presented study findings to the Whitefish City Council
• Based on the results of the WLI septic leachate study, the Whitefish City Council adopted Resolution 12-15 establishing the ad hoc Whitefish Community Wastewater Committee. WLI is appointed to facilitate the committee
• WLI completes first annual report for the Northwest Montana Lakes Volunteer Monitoring Network describing the current status of over 40 lakes in Northwest Montana
• WLI completes the Bigfork Stormwater Project Pre-Project Implementation Water Quality Testing Technical Memo
• WLI awarded a $25K capital grant by the Whitefish Community Foundation in honor of Mary Jane and Russ Street who left the Community Foundation an unrestricted gift of just over $1.1 million and to whom preservation of Whitefish Lake was very important
• At WLI’s urging, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency supervised the secondary clean-up of 450 cubic meters of lingering contaminated sediment along the shoreline of Mackinaw Bay from the 1989 train derailment

2011

• WLI staffing grows to include an Education Director and Environmental Scientist 
• WLI partners with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Flathead Basin Commission to develop the Northwest Montana Lakes Volunteer Monitoring Network which combined the WLI Whitefish to Eureka program and the FBC Volunteer Lake Monitoring program
• The Whitefish Wine Auction is labeled “Montana’s premier wine event” by distributors and patrons
• WLI partners with the Education Travel Institute of America to offer Road Scholar programs bringing 700 educational travelers to Whitefish each year to learn more about the natural amenities of the bioregion (2011-2014)
• Eurasian Watermilfoil is discovered in Beaver Lake, a tributary to Whitefish Lake. WLI works to suppress the infestation (2012 – 2018)
• WLI partners with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks; City of Whitefish; and the Whitefish County Water District to create and install educational signs at City Beach

2010

• WLI brings to the attention of the Whitefish City Council continued petroleum based seepage along the shoreline of Mackinaw Bay (site of 1989 train derailment) and urges the US Environmental Protection Agency to take action on the issue.
• Mike Koopal from WLI and John Wachsmuth from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks co-coordinate the 2nd Edition of the Montana Lake Book.
• After two years of negotiations, WLI acquires 28.82 acres of wetland habitat near the shores of Whitefish Lake through a private donation linked to an overall development package. WLI names the area the Averill’s Viking Creek Wetland Preserve to honor the donor family.
• WLI begins the Whitefish Wine Auction, the organization’s major annual fundraiser (2010-2015)
• Work commences on building a public interpretive trail in the Averill’s Viking Creek Wetland Preserve utilizing proceeds from the Whitefish Wine Auction.

• WLI is presented the inaugural Doris Schumm Community Spirit Award by the Whitefish Community Foundation

2009

• WLI begins a summer internship program for college students majoring in environmental sciences. Participants to date include: 2009 – Kristi Whisler (Northwestern University) and Mary Kohnstamm (St. Lawrence College); 2010 -Michael Harrison (Whitman College), 2011 – Leif Castren (Middlebury College), 2012 – Meagan Powell (Westminster College) and Carl Talsma (Cornell University), 2013 – Logan Seipel (University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point), 2014 – Dietrich Perchy (Montana State University), 2017- Barrett Gray (Princeton University), 2018 – Zach Cook (Brown University), 2019 – Graham Friedman (Harvard University), 2021- Molly Schmidt, University of Montana), 2022 – Sam Menicke (Manchester College), 2023 – Niko Hunter (Columbia University).
• WLI brings to attention of the Whitefish City Council the problem with petroleum based leaks from seeps along the Whitefish River
• WLI becomes recognized by the Whitefish School District as an In-Service Provider for teachers
• WLI partners with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to establish the Whitefish to Eureka Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program
• WLI begins an investigation to characterize the physical and chemical properties of Swan Lake for the Swan Lakers and Kootenai Lodge Estates

2008

• The Whitefish City Council approves initial funding to provide mitigation at the City Beach Boat Ramp based on recommendations from the WLI report: Gasoline Constituent Loading and Motorized Watercraft Use Levels, Whitefish Lake, Montana, 2005-2006
• WLI begins investigation to characterize the physical and chemical properties of Tally Lake
• Whitefish River is added to the WLI baseline monitoring program
• Mike Koopal receives an Outstanding Individual Achievement Award for his Contribution to the Protection and Enhancement of Fisheries Resources in Montana by the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society

2007

• WLI begins a long-term trend study of Whitefish Lake, documenting physical and chemical parameters at two sites on Whitefish Lake and five tributaries.
• WLI completes report: Gasoline Constituent Loading and Motorized Watercraft Use Levels, Whitefish Lake, Montana, 2005-2006
• Through a donation from Plum Creek (now Weyerhaeuser), WLI purchases and installs a weather station and bulk precipitation collector at the north end of Whitefish Lake
• WLI contracted by Flathead County to provide technical assistance to the Bigfork Stormwater Project

2006

• WLI investigates gasoline constituent loading to Whitefish Lake
• WLI conducts a social survey at three grade levels in the Whitefish School District to determine recreational use levels on Whitefish Lake
• WLI begins annual Pond Unit presentation to all Whitefish 2nd graders and annual fish dissection for all Whitefish 4th graders
• WLI begins making presentations to middle school and high school classes. Through the years WLI presents to schools in Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Somers. WLI also presents information to various civic groups, homeowners associations, and lake groups
• WLI acquires key scientific equipment through a Supplemental Environmental Program Agreement between the City of Whitefish and Montana Department of Environmental Quality

2005

• The Whitefish Lake Institute (WLI) was founded by Mike Koopal on January 6th, 2005
• WLI governance is established with a board of directors and two advisory committees
• WLI receives 501(c)(3) designation from IRS
• WLI begins the process of acquiring equipment to conduct research
• WLI begins a study looking at the potential health effects of gasoline constituent loading to Whitefish Lake
• Chris Ruffatto, Power and Energy Technology teacher at Whitefish High and program FREEFLOW director graciously volunteers to assist in data collection from 2005-2010