Mark Lorang, Ph.D received a special conservation achievement award from the Montana Wildlife Federation on Oct. 5 for his work on dynamic equilibrium beaches, beach designs that prevent shoreline erosion and help restore habitat. Lorang retired from the University of Montana Flathead Lake Biological Station and was in the San Juan Islands ”looking at beaches” when the other award recipients were honored.

Jim Vashro and Dale Becker, board members of the Federation, knew Lorang was back in the area and presented his award at the boat ramp at Yellow Bay State Park, adjacent to one of Lorang’s dynamic beaches.

“The typical approach to lakeshore erosion has been to fight it with rock rip-rap or concrete seawalls,” Vashro said. “That just moves the wave energy down the shore to the neighbors who put up their own structures …”

Lorang explained his beaches work with wave physics by building a sloping beach with various-sized rocks that direct wave energy up and dissipate it. The dynamic beaches look more natural, are friendlier to humans and wildlife and allow vegetation to grow.  

The rocks for the Yellow Bay Park Beach came from Woods Bay, Lorang said.

Lorang has installed beaches around Flathead Lake, including the North Shore, Somers Beach State Park, as well as Yellow Bay State Park; in total, he “has designed and helped install about 2.5 miles of dynamic equilibrium beaches on Flathead Lake's shoreline since 1989,” according to a Flathead Lake Bio Station newsletter from August of 2020.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes were one of his first fans, and Lorang designed the beach at Salish Point Park.