Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Infested Waters List
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) maintains an Infested Waters List of waters containing high priority aquatic invasive species. The DNR will add a lake, river, pond or wetland to the infested waters list if it contains one of these aquatic invasive species. The DNR may also list a lake, river, pond or wetland as infested if it is connected to a body of water where an aquatic invasive species is present.
To reduce the risk of spreading aquatic invasive species, activities like bait harvest and water use are managed differently in infested waters.
For additional information visit the Minnesota DNR's Infested Waters webpage.
In the table below you can click on the gray arrows to sort the list either by water body name, county, species, year, or DOW number.
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PDF| id | Water body name | County or counties | Listed for aquatic invasive species | Year listed as infested | Year species was first confirmed, or connected water body | DOW number |
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Column Descriptions:
Water body name: The name of the listed water body, if known. Lake names are listed without the word "lake". Water bodies that are "unnamed" are followed by additional location information. Where applicable, listings for the Mississippi River, St. Croix River, and St. Louis River include all waters defined as Minnesota - Wisconsin boundary waters in Minnesota Rules 6266.0500.
County or counties: The county or counties in which the water body occurs. A lake in more than one county may be listed only under the county corresponding to its DOW number, but the entire lake is considered infested. Lake Superior and portions of rivers that flow through more than one county are listed in "Multiple" counties.
Listed for aquatic invasive species: The aquatic invasive species for which the water body is listed as infested. We list a water body as infested if it contains, or is connected to a water body that contains, the following species:
- bighead carp
- Brazilian waterweed
- brittle naiad
- Eurasian watermilfoil
- faucet snail
- flowering rush
- grass carp
- New Zealand mud snail
- red swamp crayfish
- round goby
- ruffe
- silver carp
- spiny
- starry stonewort
- viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS)
- waterflea
- white perch
- zebra mussel
Year listed as infested: The year in which the water body was first added to the infested waters list. Water bodies dated 1995 were included on a "List of Contaminated Waters". From 1996-2007 water bodies were listed as "infested" through rulemaking. From 2007-2014 the DNR listed waters as infested by Commissioner's Order. Since August 2014 the online infested waters list has been the official, updated list, and water bodies were listed as infested when they are included on that list.
Year species was first confirmed, or connected water body: Either (1) the year in which we first confirmed a population of the aquatic invasive species in the water body, or (2) "connected" to indicate that we listed the water body because it is connected to a water body where the aquatic invasive species has been confirmed; this column may also contain the name and/or DOW number of the connected, confirmed water body.
DOW number: An identifying number for lakes. DOW stands for the former DNR Division of Waters. Ponds and wetlands may be listed with "none" in the number column. Most rivers and streams are listed as "NA" or with no entry in the DOW number column; some river pools are identified with a DOW number.