Nelson Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Nelson Lake at a C: clarity at 6.5 ft, 27 µg/L of phosphorus, and a TSI of 51 signal an intermediate trophic state. Clarity is the limiting factor — phosphorus is reasonable but suspended particles or algal cells keep water transparency below Minnesota norms.

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. 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. Within the 102 graded lakes of Becker County, Nelson Lake sits at rank 79, near the bottom of the county list.

Zebra mussel presence at Nelson Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Nelson Lake, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. No formal public access is documented at Nelson Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. Ice-out has been recorded 15 times at Nelson Lake, with a median around Apr 16. 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.