Briggs Lake

Briggs Lake earns a D — measurements through 2024 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Briggs Lake reaches 25 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Briggs Lake covers 404 acres alongside 3.9 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within the 24 graded lakes of Sherburne County, Briggs Lake sits at rank 19, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Briggs Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Briggs Lake, one of 21 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The lake has a partial ice record — 13 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 2. 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.