Bear Lake could get a new way to keep its waters pure, but a key deadline is days away

The crystalline waters of Bear Lake face growing threats from invasive species. Now, a Utah nonprofit is raising money to strengthen protections and preserve the lake’s ecosystem.

Bear Lake Watch, an environmental nonprofit focused on research and advocacy, is racing to raise at least $65,000 by Jan. 1 to fund a new aquatic invasive species inspection station on the Idaho side of the lake. Hitting that target date would allow the station to open by the time boating season rolls around next year.

The effort is being carried out in partnership with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, according to Bear Lake Watch Executive Director Brady Long.

“Everyone wants greater protections for this remarkable and rare lake,” Long said. “It’s just, how do we find the money? And how do we find the money to not only number one, buy the equipment, but number two, take care of the staffing associated with the inspections?”

If built, the new inspection station would be located on North Beach Road on land owned by PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, which has agreed to lease part of its property for the facility, Long said.

The station, Long said, is essential to keep invasive species already present in Idaho’s other waterways — including quagga and zebra mussels, hydrilla, New Zealand mud snails and Asian clams — from reaching Bear Lake.

The lake is already fighting an uphill battle against invasive Eurasian watermilfoil and phragmites, and Long said adding more invaders could further threaten the future of the beloved recreation spot.

“We can’t risk having a third or fourth or fifth or who knows what other monster might pop into the lake,” Long said.

There are currently two decontamination stations on the Utah side of the lake — one near Garden City and another at the marina — where the process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on wait times and the level of cleaning required.

However, new efforts are underway to tackle invasive species in Utah, Long said, including plans to install a dip tank at the expanded boat marina where watercraft entering the lake can be quickly checked and decontaminated for invasive species.

“All the work that Utah is doing is substantial,” Long said, “but if Idaho doesn’t have the same level of inspection for threats inside the state of Idaho — not just crossing borders, but already inside Idaho — ... then all of the efforts that Utah is doing is undermined.”

Idaho’s agriculture department has operated a check station on its side of Bear Lake in the past, department Deputy Director Lloyd Knight said in an email. But the agency has moved away from that approach and instead partners with the Bear Lake Regional Commission to help fund watercraft inspection stations on the Utah side.

The idea, Knight said, is to avoid inspecting boats twice on each side of the Utah-Idaho border, since most watercraft entering Bear Lake come from Utah.

But when Bear Lake Watch approached Idaho about a partnership for a new station, the state was open to the collaboration.

In an effort to avoid redundant checks, Long said, officials are working on a system to track whether a boat has already been inspected on one side of the lake.

While Bear Lake Watch will cover the Idaho check station’s equipment, lease and staffing through fundraising, the state may provide some tools and materials, Knight said, as well as support and guidance for running the station.

Long said Idaho’s parks department has also agreed to let the nonprofit sell concessions on the Gem State side of the lake, with the proceeds going toward funding the station.

The nonprofit, he added, needs to raise the money by January to order the equipment, which takes about four months to make. Such a timeline would allow the station to be ready for the summer boating season.

State agencies across the nation spend millions each year managing invasive species, but can avoid such expenses by catching problems before they reach the water, Long said.

“It’s a treasure — a rarity," Long said of the lake that straddles the Utah-Idaho border. “Many people call it the jewel of the Rocky Mountains. If we can solve this problem and put up some barriers, we’ll never enter a situation that could require millions of dollars to try to fight quagga mussels inside of Bear Lake.”