Be AIS smart this fishing season

Currently, only 8% of the lakes in Minnesota have invasive species present and we need everyone’s help to keep it that way.

If you use waders or hip boots when fishing, be sure to clean off any visible aquatic plants, animals, and mud when you’re done and use a stiff brush to scrub the bottom of your boots where mud gets stuck in the treads. Using non-felt soled boots will further reduce the risk of spreading AIS.

It is also important to dispose of unwanted bait, worms, and fish parts in the trash instead of throwing them in the water or on the shore.

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An end to fish favoritism?

This spring, Minnesota lawmakers consider new legislation, known as the “No Junk Fish” bill, which would provide funding for the DNR to study native fish species that are currently classified as rough fish and propose updated regulations to better manage and protect their populations.

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To dam or not to dam?

The Minnesota DNR has removed more than 50 dams statewide during the past thirty years and has found that an average of 73% of the lost species return to these rivers once the dams are gone. Despite the obvious ecological benefits, however, dam removal isn’t always an easy decision.

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New study finds that plastic pollution is pervasive in National Parks across the United States

Plastic makes up 81% of all trash collected in National Parks and federal lands.

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Local lakes at risk of too much love

As shorelines become increasingly more developed, we start to see shoreline erosion, fewer fish and wildlife, more algae in the water, and diminished water clarity.

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PFAS contamination works its way to the St. Croix River

Six water bodies in Washington County will likely be added to the state’s impaired waters list due to perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS), also known as the “forever chemical.” The affected waters include Tanners Lake (Oakdale), Eagle Point wetland and H.J. Brown Pond (Lake Elmo Park Reserve), Clear Lake (City of Forest Lake) and the St. Croix River/Lake St. Croix from Taylors Falls to Prescott.

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New fish barrier will keep carp out of Forest Lake

This February, CLFLWD replaced an old, dilapidated fish barrier on the northwest side of Forest Lake, where the lake outlets to the Sunrise River to prevent carp and other rough fish from migrating into Forest Lake.

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Frozen fish and salty toes

One growing concern for urban lakes and streams is pollution from winter road salt. Currently, there are 50 lakes and streams in Minnesota that are listed as impaired due to elevated chlorides and another 75 that are “nearly” impaired.

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Rumor has it there’s a rumor in town

Tanners Lake is part of the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD), and the district has worked hard to improve and protect water quality in the lake over the past 20 years. In fact, Tanners was one of the first lakes in Minnesota to be removed from the state’s impaired waters list (in 2004) after phosphorus levels went down and algae stopped being a problem.

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