Dunning Lake

Dunning Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Itasca County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. 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. Among the 141 graded lakes in Itasca County, Dunning Lake ranks 21 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Dunning Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Dunning Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Dunning Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a partial ice record — 14 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 18. 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.