Eagle Lake

On the scoring rubric Eagle Lake grades a D: clarity at 3.0 ft and 62 µg/L of phosphorus keep it in the lower bracket for Sherburne County. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

At a TSI of 62, Eagle Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. Eagle Lake reaches 18 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Eagle Lake covers 462 acres alongside 4.2 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Sherburne County's 24 graded lakes, Eagle Lake ranks 16 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Zebra mussel presence at Eagle Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Eagle Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been recorded 6 times at Eagle Lake, with a median around Apr 6. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.