As promised, this is Part 2 of my conversation with HannaLore Hein (Idaho State Historian) on the history of Bear Lake. As usual, HannaLore takes us on a well-researched ride on the history of place as this time we talk about the actual Bear Lake and the Bear River - the largest river in the US that doesn’t empty into an ocean. It empties into the Great Salt Lake and we talk about how the Bear River watershed will play a key role in the future of the Great Salt Lake. HannaLore educates me on all things water in the Bear Lake Valley and the American West as we talk about cooperative development, irrigation and water diversion, prior appropriation (first in time, first in right) vs. riparian use, and the separation of water and land rights in the American West. We cover the Desert Land Act, the Carey Act, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Weston South Field Irrigation Company. HannaLore shares the history of the Bear Lake Monster (first sighting in 1868!) and we end with HannaLore’s recommendations for something to watch, read, and listen to.

If you want to find out more about me or the Rural Towns Project, please go to https://www.ruraltownsproject.com/ or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Podcast music: “A Happy Day” by codemusic, http://www.jamendo.com, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/