A healthy shore is a happy lake

Shoreline landscaping workshops: April 18 and May 8

In the Land of 10,000 lakes, more and more lakeshore landowners are turning toward natural solutions that combine bio-engineering with deep-rooted, native plants to stabilize the land along the water’s edge while also maintaining connected corridors of habitat for beneficial insects, fish, birds, frogs, turtles, and other kinds of wildlife

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Mercury levels going down in Minnesota lakes

In 2020, the MPCA removed Forest Lake, Tanners Lake (Oakdale), Owasso (Roseville/Shoreview), Johanna (Arden Hills) and eight lakes in northern Minnesota from the state’s impaired waters list. This was the first time in Minnesota history that any lake or river recovered from a mercury impairment.

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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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Volunteer to protect Minnesota lakes from aquatic invasive species

During Starry Trek, scheduled this year for Aug. 20, volunteers gather at training sites to learn how to identify starry stonewort and then head out to local water accesses to search for signs of the invasive species.

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Tracking the health of Forest Lake area lakes and streams

Who tracks water quality in the Forest Lake area, and how do we nurse impaired lakes and streams back to good health?

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A Martha Stewart Guide to Lake Water Quality

Three variables – water clarity, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll – are combined to create a metric known as a trophic state index.

A few years back, Jerry Spetzman began noticing that the color of the algae samples on a white filter corresponded almost perfectly with the lakes’ overall water quality.

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Breaking Eurasian watermilfoil’s stranglehold on Minnesota Lakes

Researchers and lake associations search for new ways to control this aggressive invasive species. Meanwhile, watercraft inspections remain the first line of defense in preventing the spread of AIS.

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Tracking the health of lakes in Washington County

During 2020, Washington Conservation District monitored water quality on 71 lakes in Washington County. Here’s what recent data tell us about five local lakes.

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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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