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| Bear River |
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The Bear River flows northwesterly from Utah into Idaho then loops westerly then southerly before terminating in the Great Salt Lake. The Bear is commonly referred to as a working river with multiple hydropower dams and countless irrigation diversions impeding its journey through Idaho.
In addition to being a working river, the Bear provides valuable habitat for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, recreational opportunities for angling, camping, kayaking, rafting, tubing and bird watching and is a major tributary to Utah's Great Salt Lake.
The 2003 Bear River Hydropower Settlement between PacifiCorp Energy, Idaho Rivers United, other environmental groups and state and federal agencies, provides opportunities and funding for habitat improvements along with whitewater flows in the Black Canyon section of the Bear. One provision of the settlement agreement created the Environmental Coordination Committee (ECC). To date, PacifiCorp and the ECC have worked together to implement the terms of the new hydropower license and millions of dollars have been invested to protect and improve habitat and water quality along with improving the recreational resources of the Bear River.
Unfortunately, the Bear is threatened with further degradation by a new hydropower proposal in the Oneida Narrows section near the town of Preston, Idaho. The proposed project would destroy critical habitat for sensitive species along with de-railing the existing settlement with PacifiCorp.
Idaho Rivers United and our allies have been fighting this threat since 2004 and, recently, PacifiCorp struck a decisive blow to this ill-conceived proposal.
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