National Lakes Assessment (NLA)

NLA Survey Reports for Select Minnesota Lakes

Additional information about the project:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is leading a survey of the nation’s lakes in conjunction with the states in 2007. A total of 909 lakes are included in this survey.

Minnesota’s NLA effort is lead by the MPCA and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota initially drew 41 lakes as a part of this statistically-based national survey effort, and added nine lakes to allow for state-based assessment. Communication with various groups around the state led to several enhancements that were added to the base-level program including:

collaboration with U.S. Forest Service in sampling the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness;

near-shore assessments that included macrophyte identification and determination of maximum rooting depth of plants;

sampling in support of lake IBI development;

measurement of mercury in the water;

measurement of water pesticides in conjunction with an ongoing Minnesota Department of Agriculture Program;

measurement of sediment contaminants to provide improved baseline and spatial data; and

a region-wide assessment of the Prairie Pothole Region conducted in conjunction with North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Iowa.

For additional information about this project, please contact Steve Heiskary at 651-757-2419, or toll-free at 800-657-3864.

NLA Statewide Reports

This report series will examine statewide patterns in various chemical, physical and biological parameters based on data collected during the NLA survey.

NLA Survey Reports for Select Minnesota Lakes

The Lake Information Sheets listed below contain a brief description of each lake sampled for the Environmental Protection Agency National Lake Assessment Program. Included is general information about lake area and depth, watershed area and land use composition, lake dissolved oxygen and temperature profiles, and water quality data from the survey. The typical range of water quality values for each ecoregion is provided as a basis for comparison. Please note that data tables will be periodically updated as more data becomes available.

County

Lake

DNR Lake ID

EPA NLA ID

Becker

Straight

3001000

NLA06608-0366

Becker

Flat

3024200

NLA06608-1134