Heron Lake
Watershed District
1008 Third Avenue PO Box 345 Heron Lake, Minnesota
56137
Phone: 507-793-2462 Fax: 507-793-2253 |
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Heron Lake in Jackson County is the second largest Minnesota lake south of the Twin Cities, exceeded only by Swan Lake in Nicollet County. Including its four sub-basins, this long, shallow lake stretches about ten miles between Heron Lake and Lakefield, and is fed by a 472-square mile watershed.
Heron Lake was, at one
time, a water bird production and migration area of international
significance. The vast beds of wild
celery and robust stands of bulrush in Heron Lake, combined with a seemingly
endless prairie around the lake, supported an awe-inspiring number of
colonial water birds and migratory waterfowl. Observations recorded around the turn of the century report of
700,000 staging canvasbacks, 50,000 nesting Franklin’s gulls, and hundreds of
thousands of other birds.
With the movement of
settlers to the area, the prairie ecosystem was quickly converted to an
intensive row crop landscape. In the
Heron Lake watershed, this conversion resulted in the drainage of 95% of the
original wetlands, destruction of 99% of the native prairie, and loss of many
species of native flora and fauna.
The wild celery has been replaced by sago pondweed, the bulrush has
been replaced by cattail, and the huge flights of migrating canvasbacks and
other diving ducks have been mostly replaced by large flocks of mallards and
other puddle ducks which use the lake primarily for refuge during
migration. Water bird production, in
many years, is reduced due to excessive flooding which submerges nests. Agriculture was not the only threat to the
watershed’s natural resources. As
towns within the watershed district grew, so did their contribution to these
problems. Industrial and municipal
wastewater and storm water runoff increased.
Culverts and bridges were enlarged. Phosphorous is the nutrient directly responsible
for causing algae to grow in lake waters.
Some sources of phosphorous include fertilizers, animal waste,
wastewater treatment facilities, organic matter, dust, and soils washed into
lakes and streams. Suspended solids include dirt, plants, and
animals that cause water to be cloudy or less transparent. These solids reduce light penetration for
submergent plants. They also make it
difficult for aquatic animals to breathe.
Some sources of solids include erosion from construction sites,
agricultural fields, stream banks, and other unprotected soils. These problems are a direct result of drainage and the resulting higher peak and base flows, urban sources of pollution and storm water runoff, and intensive agricultural land use. All of these contribute to the water quality and quantity degradation in the watershed.
It is the mission of the HLWD to carry out the conservation of
the natural resources within its jurisdiction using sound scientific
principles to reduce property damage, improve water quality for the benefit
of the public health, welfare, and recreation, and provide for the
preservation and enhancement of wildlife habitat.
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UPCOMING PUBLIC EVENTS Board Meeting – July 24 –
7:00 p.m. – HLWD Office Note that the HLWD board
meeting dates and times are tentative.
Please contact the HLWD office for exact date and time. Draft TMDL STUDY REPORT by MPCA – WEST FORK DES MOINES RIVER WATERSHED Click
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using a 1280 x 800 display resolution and was last updated on July 17, 2008