Flathead Lake Biological Station

[4] He wanted to build a research station for the purpose of studying biology with a focus on scientific questions of natural history for the benefit of the university, the museum, and the state.

With the help of Montana politician Joseph M. Dixon (1867–1934), Congress passed the 1904 Flathead Allotment Act, which granted the station 160 acres (65 ha) for research purposes, 80 of which was set aside for what would become the new station on Yellow Bay, 40 for part of Bull Island, and 40 for Wild Horse Island, which was exchanged for the "South Forty" on Polson Bay.

[7] Elrod believed the station at Yellow Bay provided a unique vantage point for scientific research in the U.S., with a mix of "lakes, rivers, mountains, [and] forests, at elevations from 3,000 to 10,000 feet (910 to 3,050 m).

[3] The station faced funding scarcities in the 1920s and 1930s leading to only a few summer sessions in those decades, but research continued in partnership with the Montana Fish and Game Commission.

[10] The Schoonover Freshwater Research Laboratory was built in 1981, giving the station the tools to perform chemical water analyses onsite.

[15] Buoys connected to LakeNET collect data about water quality, wind speed and direction, air temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and solar radiation.

Opportunities for K-12 students are open during the summer and the regular school year through a research education program geared towards aquatic ecology.

[13] FLBS has six classrooms, cabins, and dormitories for students and staff, along with a dining and meeting area, and boathouse to host research vessels.

As such, it is a voluntary part of the Crown Managers Partnership (CMP) connecting the state of Montana with the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.

Among other aspects, the management system helps share data and mount an early response to Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS).