Thank you for the article updating readers on wildlife conservation efforts at Bear Lake. I was surprised to read, however, that “the lake came into existence in the 1910s.” Bear Lake existed as a natural lake prior to any manmade efforts to drain and control it. In fact, a drainage effort aroused controversy in the 1890s and drew eloquent comments from an early environmentalist, F.W. McCall, the elderly Irish Twin Lakes postmaster. I invite you to read some of that history on my blog at http://www.cheriregister.com/?p=191.

 

Cheri Register

Minneapolis

Editor’s note: We don’t doubt you. A source at the Department of Natural Resources told the Tribune the lake existed only as a marshy wetland, rather than open water, prior to a dam built in the 1910s for the sake of cropland and pastureland. We must say, however, we are thankful the lake wasn’t drained in the 1890s. Thanks for writing.