Badger Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Badger Lake grades a B, with clarity at 6.7 ft and 27 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Minnesota median. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

At a TSI of 51, Badger Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. Badger Lake reaches 19 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 256 acres, Badger Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.0 miles of shoreline. Within Polk County's 20 graded waters, Badger Lake sits at rank 5, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Badger Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Badger Lake, one of 9 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.