Kerr Dam

Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’
Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’
Location	Flathead Indian Reservation, Lake County, Montana, USA
Construction began	1930
Opening date	1938
Operator(s)	Energy Keepers Inc., Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Flathead River
Height	205 ft (62 m)
Length	541 ft (165 m)
Reservoir
Total capacity	1,217,000 acre·ft (1.501 km3)
Catchment area	8,587 sq mi (22,240 km2)
Surface area	191.5 sq mi (496 km2)
Power Station
Commission date	1938-1954
Turbines	3 units
Installed capacity	208 MW
Annual generation	1,100,000,000 KWh annually

The Kerr Dam, officially known as the Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’, is a concrete gravity-arch dam located at river mile 72 of the Flathead River, increasing the size of Flathead Lake near Polson, Montana. The dam was designed for hydroelectricity but also serves recreational uses. The dam was originally named after Frank Kerr, president of the Montana Power Company at the time of the dam's completion in 1938; however, during the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe's celebration of their acquisition of the dam on September 5, 2015, the Tribal Council announced that the dam's name would henceforth be changed to reflect its new ownership.

In 1930, construction began on the dam by Rocky Mountain Power. A year later in 1931, a lack of funding from the Great Depression caused construction to halt. Montana State Treasurer James Brett went to Atlanta in 1934 to ask President Franklin Roosevelt for $5,000,000 to complete the dam. Knowing that the area was in desperate need of jobs, Roosevelt gave Brett the money and he came home to a hero's welcome. In 1936, the Montana Power Company restarted the project and completed it in 1938. The dam only raised Flathead Lake by 10 feet so it is not completely responsible for the reservoir. The dam's hydro power plant consists of three units that receive water from three different 1700 feet upstream.

The dam and its related hydroelectric project are located inside the boundaries of the Flathead Indian Reservation, and operated jointly by NorthWestern Energy and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Today, with an installed capacity of 208 MW, it provides both power—enough for about 147,000 homes—and over $9 million in annual revenue for the tribes. NorthWestern Energy acquired the power plant from PPL Montana, LLC (the successor to the Montana Power Company) in 2015.