DNR to Hold Public Meeting May 4 on Rabideau Lake Management

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will hold a public information meeting on Wednesday, May 4, 6 to 7 p.m., at the Rabideau Civilian Conservation Corps Camp (CCC Camp) Education Building, to discuss the management plan for Rabideau Lake.

Located 6 miles south of Blackduck, Rabideau Lake is a 723-acre basin with a shoreline that is mostly undeveloped and irregular. The northeast basin of the lake (560 acres) is a good historic wild rice production lake that provides brooding, resting and feeding areas for waterfowl and other wildlife species, as well as recreational opportunities, including wild rice harvesting, waterfowl hunting and wildlife viewing.

The southwest basin (163 acres) is deeper than the northeast basin and supports a quality fishery that provides bluegill, black crappie, walleye, yellow perch and northern pike fishing opportunities.

The DNR will manage the northeast basin as a shallow lake, primarily for wild rice and waterfowl. The goal is to manage this basin for 200-250 acres of wild rice annually. The DNR will manage the deeper southwest basin to maintain the present quality fishery.

To meet these goals, the DNR plans to manage water levels at the existing control structure to encourage wild rice growth in the northeast basin while avoiding winter fish kills in the southwest basin. Desired lake levels will be manipulated throughout the spring, summer and late fall, and maintained throughout winter to retain oxygen levels needed to avoid winter fish kills in the southwest basin.

The Rabideau CCC Camp, where the meeting will take place, is 6 miles south of Blackduck on County Road 39 (Scenic Byway) in Beltrami County.
For more information contact Dave Rave, Bemidji area wildlife supervisor, at 218-308-2336, [email protected].