This article was so befuddling I am still scratching my head. There is very little it that makes sense to me, but maybe that’s just because I’m not from Minnesota.

Beaver dam slows water from Lake Ocheda drawdown

A beaver dam on the Ocheyedan River may slow water from the drawdown of Lake Ocheda on its way to Lake Bella, but it won’t stop it, and the dam provides other advantages too. The drawdown, meant to kill rough fish and improve water quality, started Wednesday.

Now just in case you’re wondering ROUGH fish aren’t fish that have had a difficult upbringing. They are the fish that people don’t feel like catching. Lucky for lazy fishermen in the state DNR exerts a great deal of energy to kill them off. It won’t happen as fast this year because of the beaver dam, which in their generosity they are letting stay for now.

“We’ll probably be dropping the (water) level a bit slower this year because of the beaver dam,” said Dan Livdahl, administrator of the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District, who visited the official, human-built Lake Ocheda Dam to pull its stop logs Wednesday.

The beaver dam, which was discovered last spring on OOWD land, is about four feet tall, covered with vegetation and spans the entire width of the Ocheyedan River. Because the beaver dam creates wetlands water storage, holding back floodwater and reducing the amount of sediment running into the lake, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the OOWD together opted to leave the unofficial construction as it is.

You don’t say.

The half-foot drawdown will be the second consecutive drawdown for Lake Ocheda, after a previous drawdown in 2020-2021 failed to fully achieve its goals. That winter just wasn’t cold enough to kill all the rough fish that stir up sediment and destroy vegetation in the lake, harming water quality. Because of this year’s drought, the nutrients left in the lake from the dead fish weren’t flushed from the lake either, Livdahl said.

This time, the hope is that Minnesota “experiences more typical winter weather” and the fish winterkill is more intense, a Watershed District press release noted.

How confusing is that? A department of natural resources that is worried it didn’t kill enough fish last winter and crossing it’s fingers that more will kick it this year. I guess i can understand wanting to kill off some invasives like carp but it’s hard to think of anything that would kill them without harming the other fish. also anything else in the ecosystem.

How exactly do these rough fish destroy the vegetation in the lake? I mean isn’t there any species of game fish that EATs rough fish? I was pleasantly surprised to find this article from april.

DNR pushes for new respect of Minnesota’s rough fish

“These are fish we need,” Parsons said. “There’s still a perception that if it’s not a sunfish or another game fish, it’s a carp.”

Fisheries managers of yore helped plant the culture of disrespect by poisoning so-called “rough fish” to rid them from waterways. Myths have grown up around some species that they stunt walleye production.

With the exception of common carp, a destructive, nonnative fish still targeted by the DNR for mass removal from shallow lakes, nongame species have important roles in the ecosystem, the agency is teaching. Redhorse and other suckers are a vital food source for game fish. Buffalo eat unwanted algae. Gar and dogfish (bowfin) are among the few fish that eat carp. Minnows thrive by eating suckers’ eggs. There’s also growing interest around the country in targeting certain native, nongame species for table fare and catch-and-release sport.

Yeah that’s what I’d think. Good luck getting that to catch on though. It seems like there has been a lot of stupid running rampant in your state for a long time. Suddenly understanding more about the blowing up beaver dams to help trout thing.

Our good friend photographer Patrick Page took a visit to fairfield last night and was rewarded with several beaver sightings. I particularly like this photo.