Bear Lake Watch tries to protect and preserve the blue waters. Photo by wildlife.utah.gov
GARDEN CITY – Claudia and David Cottle, the current co-executive directors of Bear Lake Watch, are trying to turn over the executive director roll to someone else as the organization is growing in scope.
The board of directors of Bear Lake Watch want to expand the organization’s executive team by bringing on someone to take the reins in the future as executive director and to assist the workload now while paving the way to the future.
Claudia Cottle has been elected to serve as Vice President of Government & External Affairs. David will continue to serve as one of the 14 board members of the group. They are actively searching for interested candidates.
“Claudia and I have been doing this for 20 years and we will continue to be on the board of the directors,” he said. “It will be a long transition. There is a lot of institutional knowledge and relationship building that has to be done.”
Bear Lake Watch started in 1982 by Merlin Olsen, Phil Olsen, Dick Motta and David’s father Russ Cottle in an effort to protect and preserve Bear Lake in Utah and Idaho by promoting responsible management.
Cottle said they have seen a lot of changes over the years, but the last four to five years they have seen a population surge. The organization has spotted invasive plant species over the years, the last was Eurasian Water Foil.
The organization is actively searching for the right candidate
They believe the best place to find the right person would be inside Bear Lake’s very own family. People interested in helping chart a course for Bear Lake’s preservation should apply.
The Executive Director for the non-profit serves as the principal spokesperson and chief advocate on behalf of Bear Lake Watch. The Executive Director is also responsible for providing strategic leadership in the overall planning, coordination, management and execution of all Bear Lake Watch activities.
The Executive Director works closely with the board to set policy and direction as well as to establish short-term and long-range strategic objectives.
The position is listed on Indeed.com Bear Lake Watch.