Rock bottom

Whitefish Lake Institute rekindles rock-watching tradition with fundraiser

If winter is beginning to wear on you - if it's been too long, too gray and too cold - take heart, Flathead Valley.

The Whitefish Lake Institute stands ready to chase away cabin fever with an event that's as exciting as watching a rock drop through the ice - literally.

Last year the institute - a nonprofit group engaged in research and education as it relates to water quality in Whitefish Lake - restarted the time-honored tradition of a guessing contest about when a designated rock will sink through the ice come spring.

The event is back again this year with a new and improved format. Whitefish High School industrial-arts students have built a fancy metal tripod, complete with the institute's logo, that will position the rock until it sinks through the ice. The metal sculpture will be illuminated for night viewing.

And a Web cam is being set up so viewers can watch the rock around the clock if they so choose. Viewers can tune in online at www.whitefishlake.org.

"It will look pretty spectacular out there on the ice," rock-drop coordinator Susan Fletcher said about the 5-foot-high metal tripod.

After the rock and tripod are debuted in Saturday's Whitefish Winter Carnival parade, they will be hauled to their resting spot, about 100 yards from the shoreline at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

Then the waiting begins.

Tickets will be sold for $5 apiece to guess the exact time it will fall through the ice as spring approaches. Tickets will be available at the Boat Club restaurant at The Lodge and at various merchants around Whitefish. Last year a 400-pound boulder sank through at the end of March.

This year's rock will be much smaller so it can accommodate the tripod, which will be attached to a buoy that will allow it to be retrieved afterward.

There is an ulterior motive to all of this. Half of the money raised will go to the institute's Frank Morrison Jr. Scholarship Fund. The other half, as much as $800, will be awarded to the contest winner.

A broader goal is to engage the public in looking at Whitefish Lake and thinking about water quality all year round, said Fletcher, a member of the institute's citizen advisory committee.

Years ago the American Legion operated a similar rock-watching contest as a way to raise money, according to longtime lake watcher Bill Leonard. He recalled the rock being situated on ice near Bay Point. It was wired to an electronic sensor device on shore that recorded the day and time of the drop.

But it's been at least 10 years, maybe 15 or even 20, since the American Legion quit holding its annual contest.

Whitefish Lake Institute has taken a leadership role in research and education about the lake since the institute was founded in 2005.

The institute conducts ongoing monitoring on the lake, testing for aquatic nuisance species, water quality and motorized watercraft levels. Last year the institute started the Living Watershed Education and Outreach Campaign, building on outreach efforts by incorporating education strategies such as internships and presentations to school children.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com