Lake Chelan Research Institute

09/22/2026

Thanks to KOZI for writing an article on one of our current projects!

Revealing new underwater map of glacier-carved Lake Chelan.
https://www.kozi.com/blog/categories/breaking-news

09/18/2026

Lake Chelan Research Institute’s comment on Lake Chelan named the Cleanest Lake in America:

The Lake Chelan Research Institute (LCRI) is grateful to see Lake Chelan receive this national recognition from lake.com. It’s a wonderful distinction—and a reminder of why continued monitoring, research, and stewardship are so important.

LCRI has been conducting regular water-quality monitoring since 2017, working with local, state, and regional partners to better understand and protect the lake.

While Lake Chelan remains an extraordinary lake, challenges including invasive aquatic plants, woody debris, DDT, attached shoreline algae, and the threat of invasive species remain.

As LCRI Executive Director Phil Long says, “Protecting the lake requires us to keep monitoring, keep learning, and keep addressing emerging challenges.”

Let’s celebrate what makes Lake Chelan special—and keep working together to protect it for generations to come! 💙💙💙

08/28/2026

Thank you to Campbell’s for the kind words of praise! We do our best to keep the lake clean and beautiful into the future 💙💙💙

America has a new cleanest lake. Lake Chelan in Washington has overtaken Lake Superior to lead Lake.com’s 2026 ranking of the cleanest lakes in the United States.

07/21/2026

DON MORSE WOOD REMOVAL! Volunteers needed!

Please join us WEDNESDAY, JULY 22 from 8:00-11:00 AM at Don Morse Park in Chelan to help remove woody debris along the shoreline.

The Lake Chelan Research Institute and the City of Chelan Parks and Recreation Department have teamed up to remove some of the woody debris at Don Morse park.

The City will be providing trailers to haul away the wood that is collected. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own work gloves.

See the photo in the comments for where to park.

You can RSVP using this link: https://forms.gle/v2FBBXbtjFZpQzBf6

05/01/2026

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

After much deliberation by our judges, the winners of the Restore the Shore IV photo contest have been announced!

As a reminder, there were three photo categories:

1) 🗑️ “Trashiest” Photo - Trash as it was found before being collected

2) 🎬 Best “Collection in Action” Photo - Action shot of people engaging in Restore the Shore

3) 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Best Group Photo - Shot of a group that came out to show their support!

And the winners are…

🥇”TRASHIEST” ~ Melissa Collins ($20 Culinary Apple gift card)

🥇”ACTION SHOT” ~ Ian Blevins (2 adult tickets to the Ruby Theatre $20 value)

🥇”GROUP” ~ Anna Koenig Caddey ($20 gift card to the Vogue Coffee Bar)

Thank you to our amazing contest sponsors for generously providing the prizes for the different categories!

We have also shared a couple of our honorable mentions. Thank you to everyone who submitted their photos, and to everyone who came out for Restore the Shore IV! We hope to see you all again next year.

03/17/2026

It’s that time of the year again! Please join us for Restore the Shore IV this upcoming Saturday, March 21st, for another great shoreline trash cleanup in Lake Chelan!

More details about the event can be found at https://keepitbluelakechelan.org/restore-the-shore/

09/15/2025

06/26/2025

So proud of LCRI employee Anna Galipeau for her work on this project!