Little Moose Lake

Little Moose Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Little Moose Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 23 ft puts Little Moose Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake's 289 acres and 4.5 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Little Moose Lake ranks 115 of 141 in Itasca County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Little Moose Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Muskie are on the species list at Little Moose Lake, alongside the lake's 13 other documented fish. A documented public access point at Little Moose Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.