Lake Management Plan
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Questions? |
9.1 Pelican Lake
Pelican Lake is among the largest lakes in Ottertail County. It is nearly 8 miles long from East to West. It has an excellent sport fishery and is a popular lake in the area for recreation.
Fig 9.1 Big Pelican Lake depth
9.1.1 Water Level
Big Pelican Lake is 3,986 acres with a maximum depth of 55 feet. The elevation of the water level has been monitored 1512 times from 03/24/1938 to 09/28/2011. The highest water level recorded was at 1319.72 feet above sea level in August 1993. The lowest recorded water level was at 1314.78 feet in March 1938. The variance in level is 4.94 feet. The ordinary high water level (OHW) is 1318 ft and is illustrated with the red line in the graph below.
Fig 9.2 Pelican Lake surface water elevation from 1996-2011
9.1.2 Water Clarity
RMB Labs has collected Secchi disk readings at site 206 since 1996 (more info on water clarity). RMB Lab Secchi measurements have been made monthly from May to September. Measurements were taken bimonthly starting in 2006. The approximate same location (site 206) is used for every measurement.
Big Pelican has an average Secchi of 13.0 feet and currently has no trends in the data suggesting that Secchi readings are not getting better or worse, but staying the same. The trend is based on data from 1996-2011.
In 2007, additional sites were added to the monitoring schedule (sites 205, 201). To see a map of sites and the monitoring results, click on the link below.
see secchi data graphs and trend analysis
9.1.3 Chlorophyll A
RMB has collected chemical data on Big Pelican Lakes ChlA since 1996. Big Pelican has an average ChlA of 5.2 ppb, below the average for other lakes in the ecoregion.
see Chlorophyll-a data graphs and trend analysis
9.1.4 Total Phosphorous
RMB has collected chemical data on Big Pelican Lakes TP since 1996. Big Pelican has an average TP of 15.3 ppb, below the average for other lakes in the ecoregion.
see Total Phosphorus data graphs and trend analysis
9.1.5 Trophic State Index
Average TSI ratings are based on TSI values for ChlA, TP, and Secchi disk. Big Pelican Lakes average TSI is 42.6. Big Pelican Lake is mesotrophic. Mesotrophic lakes usually have a great sport fishery (walleye). For recreation, the lake is very usable. There may be some slight algae blooms in late summer, but otherwise the lake is great for recreation.