Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Welcome to Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge, an oasis of marshes and grasslands located in southeastern Idaho. The landscapes of Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge are surrounded by mountains and range in elevation from as low as 5,925 feet to as high as 6,800 feet on the slopes of Merkley Mountain. The marshes were once part of a much larger prehistoric lake that filled much of the valley.

Wildlife: Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge helps protect the home of numerous wild animals including Canadian geese, mallards, teals, egrets, blue herons, swans, sandhill cranes, California gulls, hawks, owls, mule deer, moose, muskrats, cottontail rabbits, coyotes, badgers, beavers, and skunks. Please treat their home with respect.

Refuge History: According to archeological discoveries the Shoshone tribe hunted the lands and fished the waters of Bear Lake Valley long before the arrival of the first European settlers. In the early 20th Century Utah Power and Light Company build a sysetm of canals and a pumping station in the refuge as part of a power generating system. The name Bear Lake is a shortened version of what a trapper named Donald McKenzie named the place, Black Bears Lake.

For the lover of the outdoors this refuge boasts awesome wildlife viewing opportunities and so much more. Come on out and explore.

This was RecPlanet place of the day on May 14, 2018.