Bear Lake

Bear Lake earns a D — measurements through 2022 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer. Clarity is the limiting factor — phosphorus is reasonable but suspended particles or algal cells keep water transparency below Minnesota norms.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. The lake's surface area is not consistently recorded across state datasets — physical context remains partial. Within the 187 graded lakes of St. Louis County, Bear Lake sits at rank 159, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Bear Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Bear Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. 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.