Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a 19,000-acre protected wetland in southeast Idaho, south of Montpelier, in Bear Lake Valley amid surrounding mountains. Its landscape is dominated by bulrush marshes, open water, and flooded meadows, with grasslands and brushy slopes along the edges. The refuge includes Dingle Marsh, a remnant of a much larger prehistoric lake that once filled the valley and later receded. It is especially important for summer birdlife, including ibis, cranes, swans, ducks, geese, and shorebirds, while moose, wintering mule deer, muskrats, skunks, and cottontail rabbits also use the area.