Barry Lake

Barry Lake grades an F: water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate poorly, placing it among the most stressed lakes monitored in Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Hypereutrophic conditions mean the lake is operating at the upper end of the productivity scale, with all the bloom risk that implies. Barry Lake is a shallow lake at 9 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. Barry Lake covers 398 acres alongside 5.6 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Barry Lake ranks 8 of 9 in Big Stone County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Barry Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Walleye are documented at Barry Lake, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Barry Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.