RMB Labs
Our primary testing partner. Member-sampled data is analyzed and reported back to the association through their Lakes portal.
Stewardship
The association's working priority.
Healthy water is not passive. Pickerel has always been preserved by the people who live on it — watching the shoreline, watching what goes in and out of the water, watching what shows up on the dock each spring. This page is the short version of what we do, and what we ask of every member and every visitor.
Aquatic Invasive Species
Zebra mussels are here. Prevention still matters.
In 2024, zebra mussels were confirmed in Pickerel Lake. The Minnesota DNR has designated the lake an infested water. That designation does not mean prevention ends — it means prevention becomes how we protect the lakes our boats visit next, and how we slow the density of mussels already here.
Under Minnesota Statute 84D.09, it is a misdemeanor to transport aquatic plants or water from one water body to another. Every trailer must be drained. Every livewell, bait bucket, and bilge must be emptied before leaving the access.
Watercraft that have been in infested water should be either dried a minimum of 5 days before launching elsewhere, or kept out of any water body for at least 21 days under cover. When in doubt, a Department of Natural Resources decontamination station at a regional access can decontaminate your boat professionally.
Water Quality
Tested, reported, shared.
MPCA surface water
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency maintains the state-level impairment record for Pickerel. Members can cross-reference our volunteer data against their official reports.
MN DNR LakeFinder
Fisheries surveys, stocking history, lake management plans, and public access data. The authoritative state record for the lake.
Shoreline & forest
Worm Watch & the Spray Escrow
Tent caterpillar outbreaks have stripped shoreline trees along Pickerel more than once in recent decades. The association maintains a Spray Donation Escrow so that when infestation exceeds threshold, aerial spraying can be scheduled quickly — roughly $3,500 per event, cost-shared across contributing members. Donations to the escrow roll forward year over year; they are not spent until an outbreak triggers a board vote.
Learn more from the University of Minnesota Extension: extension.umn.edu.
Shoreline management
Native plants, not rip-rap rush.
Otter Tail County's Shoreland Management Ordinances govern what can be built and planted within a fixed distance of the ordinary high water mark. Before any dock expansion, clearing, or erosion treatment, a member should confirm the rule with the county. The association is not a permit authority, but we will happily point you to the right office.
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