Moose Lake

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.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. A maximum depth of just 13 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. Moose Lake covers 132 acres alongside 2.9 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Moose Lake ranks 78 of 86 in Beltrami County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Moose Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 12 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at 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.