About 25 citizens attended the meeting to learn about issues Badger Lake is facing and to voice their opinions on solutions.

The meeting began with Webster County Conservation Director Matt Cosgrove giving a presentation about the history of Badger Lake in John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. Cosgrove explained work that has been done on the lake since it was established in 1963.

Cosgrove said the reasons the Conservation Board is looking at renovating the lake include preserving it for future generations, stabilizing the shorelines and streambanks, improving the fishery, improving access to the lake, and improving the water quality.

A big issue with Badger Lake is that it has a watershed area much larger than most lakes. The watershed is the land area that channels rainfall, snowmelt, and runoff from fields into the lake. Cosgrove said the high levels of water draining into Badger Lake present difficulties when it comes to maintaining the lake levels, fish population, vegetation growth, and the structure of the river banks.

-Messenger photo by Michaela Frerichs
Badger Lake at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park has several issues that the Webster County Conservation Board is looking to address.

Cosgrove said the Conservation Board is looking into several improvement possibilities such as structures upstream to slow the water flow, streambank and shoreline stabilization, more fishing jetties, shoreline protection, fish habitats, fish population renovation, sediment removal, and aquatic vegetation management.

Ben Wallace, a fisheries biologist from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, presented information regarding the fish population of Badger Lake. Wallace said that while Badger Lake does have a wide variety of fish species, there is an overpopulation of common carp and that causes several issues.

In addition to the overpopulation of carp, this past winter, Badger Lake experienced a significant winterkill of the fish population. Wallace said Webster County Conservation alerted them of the presence of a high number of dead fish and the DNR investigated. Wallace said it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the winterkill but it was clear there had been significant loss especially in the largemouth bass population.

If there is no intervention, Wallace said he predicts the common carp numbers will continue to increase, the water quality will deteriorate, and many species of panfish will disappear from the lake.

A possible solution Wallace explained would be to renovate the fishery. Wallace said the DNR has renovated several other fisheries, and usually have excellent results. Renovating the fishery would entail using a chemical called Rotenone which inhibits gilled organism’s ability to use oxygen in the water.

Wallace said this is a common tool that has been used in fishery management for many years. He said the chemical only affects gilled creatures, does not move through soil, and breaks down in just a few weeks.

The chemical works quickly and effectively, killing fish within an hour. Wallace said after a few hours the chemical has usually done its job and the process is finished.

The resulting dead fish could decompose in a matter of days if the weather is warm.

Wallace said the most cost effective way to complete this renovation would be to lower the water level by about 50 percent so they can better control the spread of the chemical and use less of the solution, saving cost.

In addition, with the water level lowered, other work could be done at the lake simultaneously such as adding new fishing jetties or removing silt.

After the renovation, Wallace said water quality would improve the following year and aquatic vegetation would most likely begin to grow. He said there would be the possibility of filamentous algae if the water is clear enough.

One citizen raised concern that the algae would make activities such as kayaking impossible. Wallace said they would need to prepare a vegetation management plan such as applying herbicides to certain areas.

Wallace said aquatic vegetation would provide many benefits such as fish habitats, nutrient usage to prevent unwanted vegetation from thriving, preventing phosphorus release, and holding the sediment in place.

In conclusion Wallace said the fishery renovation would be a short term loss with a long term gain. He also said with the recent winterkill, Badger Lake doesn’t have a large population of fish to lose. He said following the renovation, fish would grow quicker and the renovation could couple well with other improvement projects.

Cosgrove said they have other improvements planned such as paving the trail around the lake, so it would be beneficial to coordinate the projects in order to lessen the amount of time the lake is not usable.

Wallace said these are only potential ideas and nothing has been officially decided. He said if they chose to move forward with the fishery renovation, it would most likely take place in late summer or early fall of 2022.

Cosgrove assured attendees that they would not drain the lake before the 25th Annual Dragon Boat Races were held next year.

Cosgrove said they value the public’s input and if people would like to discuss further or inquire about how they could help fund these improvements, to contact him at 515-576-4258.