By Clayton Gefre, Staff writer
The Herald Journal
Bear Lake and its uses was the topic of conversation Thursday night at the Cache County Historic Courthouse for the third in a series of town hall meetings organized by Cache County’s representatives at the Utah Legislature.
Six panel members representing the Utah State Division of Water Rights, Utah State Division of Forestry, Fire and Sovereign Lands, the Bear Lake Regional Commission, Utah State Parks, the Bear Lake Watch, and the local government of Garden City were invited by Cache County’s legislators to give their perspectives on the state of Bear Lake, including its water levels and its economic significance to northern Utah. They each gave presentations and answered questions from attendees.
“Out motto in Garden City is ‘Where Families Play,’” Garden City Mayor John Spuhler said to the attendees. “We have to have a vision for the future, and we’re always looking closely at balancing the needs of recreational visitors with those who live here year-round.”
Will Atkin of the Utah State Division of Water Rights gave a short presentation about the use of Bear Lake as a natural reservoir and power supply for the states surrounding it, noting how its water levels have fluctuated since its designation as U.S. Reservoir Site No. 1 in April 1889.
“We’re not currently in a drought right now, but we’ve been able to weather droughts and been able to manage water effectively for those needing the water,” Atkin said.
Mitch Poulsen of the Bear Lake Regional Commission said one of the main projects the commission is looking toward for Bear Lake’s surrounding campsites is the improvement of bike paths around the perimeter.
“We tend to make ourselves involved in anything that needs technical and mechanical expertise,” Poulsen said. “We would like to extend the bike paths from the Rattlesnake Subdivision all the way to the boat launch and then integrate those paths into existing trails. We could post the paths online once the project is complete.”
Richard Droesbeke of Utah State Parks spoke about an alarming statistic regarding recreational vehicle use at Bear Lake, pointing out that Rich County had the highest number of recreational vehicle accidents per capita in the state, with a large percentage of those accidents stemming from activities at Bear Lake.
“We’re working with the Bear River Health Department to remind vehicle users to stay safe,” Droesbeke said. “We’re having more people each year having more fun at the state parks in the area, but we want to make sure to try and keep everyone safe even as the campgrounds are bursting at the seams.”
The large summer crowds play a significant role in the city’s government, Mayor Spuhler said. He said Garden City only has about 800 permanent residents, but hosts crowds of up to 30,000 people during crowded summer days.
“Of Rich County’s property tax revenue, 82 percent of it comes from second-home owners at Garden City,” Spuhler explained. “We brought in $512,000 in sales tax last year. A lot of what we take in goes to fund projects around the county and the state. There’s a reputation of us having a lot of taxes, but the truth is our tax is the 21st-lowest district in Utah, and we’ve only raised taxes once in the past 25 years.”
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Bear Lake Utah State Legislature Town Hall Economic Development Safety Panel Discussion Utah State Division Of Water Rights Division Of Forestry Fire And Sovereign Lands Bear Lake Regional Commission Utah State Parks Bear Lake Watch Garden City
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