Bear Lake Research Grant Projects

Topic

What are the potential differences in water quality between surface irrigation and sprinkler irrigation return flows? Which, if either, of these irrigation types, has potentially less negative impact on the water quality of Bear Lake?

Reports and Data

Slides: Irrigation Performance Connection to Water Quality in Big Creek

Topic

This project will select the optimal temperature thresholds for the hydrological simulations using ground-truth data available from National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and examine how the water balance in the Bear Lake changed over the past and will change in the future with the adjusted temperature thresholds.

Reports and Data

Improving Bear Lake Water Budget through Better Rain-Snow Separation

Slides: Improving Bear Lake Water Budget Through Better Rain-Snow Separation

Topic

This project studies how Bear Lake water chemistry affects Eurasian watermilfoil growth and measures herbicide efficacy in Bear Lake's water chemistry as compared to other water sources.

Reports and Data

Investigating herbicide efficacy and behavior for controlling Eurasian Watermilfoil in Bear Lake

Topic

The research will establish a baseline to assess impact of restoration actions reconnecting Bear Lake tributaries to increase resilience and abundance of native fishes.

Reports and Data

Report: Establishing a Baseline to Assess Impact of Restoration Actions Reconnecting Bear Lake Tributaries for Native Fishes

Slides: Establishing a Baseline to Assess Impact of Restoration Actions Reconnecting Fish Access to North Eden Creek

Topic

The proposed research will engage students from across three graduate and one undergraduate courses in both historical and qualitative research related to Bear Lake. Data collected will provide insights into the environmental concerns related to increased recreation, in-migration, and climate change.

Reports and Data

Short-Term Rentals: How are They Impacting the Bear Lake Community?

The Perceived Community and Environmental Impacts of Development Around Bear Lake

CANRI Research on Bear Lake

Slides: Assessing Bear Lake Environmental Concerns of Scientists, Residents, and Community Organizers

Understanding Socio-environmental Concerns about Bear Lake: Findings from a Community-Engaged Teaching Study

Topic

This project will focus on detection and quantification of nanoparticle contamination in Bear Lake, and how human activity on or near the lake and seasonal changes affects these concentrations.

Reports and Data

Nanoparticle pollution in Bear Lake

Topic

The project will provide photographic documentation of the critical work to locate, define, and disseminate key issues within the sovereign lands of Bear Lake.

Reports and Data

Bear Lake Needs Assessment Documentation and Visualization Project

Topic

This class cohort research project aims to collect Bear Lake resources already present at USU, make them more visible, accessible, and organized, and facilitate their use for research, public outreach and awareness, and longer-term research and lake management.

Reports and Data

Bear Lake Class Cohort Grant Research Bibliography, History 3950 Spring 2024

Bear Lake Class Cohort Grant Research Bibliography

Slides: The Cultural and Historical Resources of Bear Lake: An ILWA Class Cohort Grant Project

Topic

The project team will create deep learning models to predict annual min/max Bear Lake elevation levels, which will be coupled with downscaled estimates of future climate projections. These model estimates will be embedded in online data dashboards that will allow state and local officials to interactively explore lake elevation projections based on various future climate scenarios and model fitting assumptions.

Reports and Data

Using machine learning to create interactive projections of lake elevations in the Bear Lake in a future climate

Source Code and Data

Interactive Data Dashboard

Slides: Interactive Modeling of Bear lake Water Elevation in a Future Climate

Topic

This proposal emphasizes the integration of the advanced Blue ROV 2 autonomous submarine robotic system to holistically study the underwater environment of the lake. Objectives include generating detailed longitudinal maps, sampling fishery health, assessing shoreline degradation, and evaluating underwater infrastructure integrity.