THE SELI’Š KSANKA QLISPE’ DAM

Deep within the Rocky Mountains, tiny streams converge again and again, flowing into each other, eventually forming Northwest Montana’s two mightiest rivers. The Flathead and Swan Rivers drain Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall and Mission Mountains Wildernesses, and the entire Flathead Valley, home to more than 100,000 people. This is a watershed of epic proportions, and it all ends up in Flathead Lake. The input fluctuates dramatically throughout the year, with the high point during springtime snowmelt and the low point during winter, when the region’s alpine water reservoir is frozen. Just below the lake, at mile 72, the Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam maintains water levels in this massive body and harnesses its power. Operated by Energy Keepers, a corporation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), this dam was built in the 1930s but was transferred to tribal management in 2015. Its primary function is to generate hydroelectricity—enough power for 150,000 homes annually—but it also supports irrigation for farming and ranching by regulating water flow during the drier months. A concrete gravity-arch dam built into steep, cliffed walls on either side of the river, it is a striking piece of functional architecture.