Balsam Lake Properties and Conservancies
BLPRD Conservation properties provide the controls needed for conservation practices to improve and manage areas of potential and historic pollution to promote preservation of critical wildlife and fisheries habitat, water quality, and recreational uses. These properties are managed according to established guiding principles outlined in “Balsam Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District Conservation Land Guiding Principles for Management, Sustainability, and Public Access Use” approved by the district board in 2024. The full document can be viewed here.
If you have land you wish to contribute to the District’s conservancy properties please get in touch with the comissioners.
The Stumps Bay property consists of 18.8 acres and was purchased in 2005 with financial assistance from a DNR land conservation grant. This property was viewed at the time of purchase as the best opportunity for conservation on the lake. This large bay provides great aesthetic, fish, and wildlife value to the Balsam Lake ecosystem. It is the most biologically diverse area on Balsam Lake and is a critical fish spawning area comprised of submerged and semi-submerged stumps, wetlands, marshes, grasses, reeds, aquatic vegetation, and trees. It is home to abundant wildlife including shorebirds, birds of prey and migratory waterfowl. Stumps Bay is also home to the largest of the 26 critical habitat designated areas on Balsam Lake with just over 100 acres being classified as a Sensitive Area of Special Natural Resource Interest.
The Rice Creek property was obtained due to runoff pollution, including agricultural runoff, impacting Balsam Lake – and specifically entry into Little Balsam. Significant watershed restoration and protection work has been completed on the Rice Creek properties over the years following the original purchase. The district restored 30 acres of crop fields to native prairie grasses. A silo and barn were removed as they were no longer used. Most notably, a sedimentation basin was constructed in 1999 to remove phosphorus and sediment directly from Rice Creek before reaching Balsam Lake
The Bass Bay property was acquired to help to preserve an important natural habitat area identified in the DNR Sensitive Area Study. The shoreline adjacent to this property is described as “a very unique ecosystem with an extremely diverse plant and animal community.” The property contains one of the few areas around the lake of native forested habitat.