Jessie Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Jessie Lake at a C: clarity at 8.0 ft, 30 µg/L of phosphorus, and a TSI of 50 signal an intermediate trophic state. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

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. A maximum depth of 42 ft puts Jessie Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. With 1,740 acres of surface and 9.7 miles of shoreline, Jessie Lake is a large water by Minnesota standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Jessie Lake ranks 109 of 141 in Itasca County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Jessie Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Jessie Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Jessie Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a long ice-out record — 80 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 25. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.