Christmas Lake is a spring-fed lake covering approximately 265 acres (1.1 km2) in the western Minneapolis suburbs of Shorewood and Chanhassen. The Christmas Lake Homeowners Association takes the quality of Christmas Lake very seriously and stays involved in state, local and national agencies to help us better understand how we can protect Christmas Lake and help educate our members in how they can help. Lake Quality is described herein relates to Lake Quality and Aquatic Invasive Species summaries. For information on fish and wildlife refer to those tabs.
Christmas Lake is known for its exceptional water clarity, the best in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, with a DNR-reported clarity level of 20 feet (6.10 m). This is the best water quality in the 7 county metro area.
Christmas Lake Homeowners Association measures the clarity of the lake monthly during the summer months using the Secchi disk reading method.
2024 readings:
July 15, 2024 clear waters to 21.5’ on the disc.
This clarity can be attributed to the fact that Christmas Lake is a spring fed lake with a sandy bottom. Although relatively small in area, Christmas Lake becomes deep (its maximum depth is 87 ft (27 m)) very quickly, forming the basin of a depression that extends all along “the Ridge” (the rim of the lake’s basin).
Christmas Lake has 26 +/- different aquatic plant species growing in her depths. Many of these are native and good for the lake, our fish and other lake habitants. You will see snorkel groups out on the lake to observe them. Others fall in the category of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). These plants are not native, and they often grow at rapid invasive rates causing changes in the lake and shorelines we all enjoy.
Unfortunately, we have Zebra Mussels and Eurasian Watermilfoil, the Eurasian Watermilfoil has been successfully diminishing with a Weevil program we initiated that naturally diminishes the plant. There are other AIS in Minnesota and even metro lakes, including spiny water fleas and starry stonewort. Those are the critters we are now trying to keep out of Christmas Lake that could pose a big threat to lake life as we know it. We are actively doing what we can to prevent them from coming into Christmas Lake with our Boat Landing monitoring system described in the Executive Summary below. Additional efforts include joining a study conducted by the University of Minnesota AIS department which will be testing our lake for eDNA (environmental DNA) for aquatic plant species in our lake including the DNA of Invasive Aquatic Species.
I. Executive Summary
We are happy to report that 2024 was a year with few surprises, and no new aquatic invasive species were identified in the lake. Quite frankly, that’s the best possible outcome from our efforts.
Our Christmas Lake AIS program is focused in four key areas:
1. Inspection and Decontamination – We strive to inspect every watercraft entering the lake to prevent the introduction of another aquatic invasive species or another strain of one of the species that has already infested Christmas Lake.
2. Coordinated dock and lift installations and removals – We work to intentionally limit the number of dock and lift service providers to further reduce the introduction of new AIS into Christmas Lake.
3. Dedicated trailers – We work to limit the number of commercial trailers that haul watercraft into and out of Christmas Lake.
4. Early detection and control – We strive to know about an infestation of a new species as soon as possible to increase our control options, and we look to leverage proven science as well as research opportunities to gain greater control over AIS that are already in Christmas Lake.
Each of these areas requires volunteer support along with coordination and communication with lake residents. And we couldn’t do this work without our public sector partners: the AIS Research Center at the U of MN, Hennepin County, and the City of Shorewood.
Our AIS program is expensive, and most of the expense is from the contract for AIS inspection services. Unsurprisingly, those costs went up significantly in 2024 due to a rate increase and the longer than normal season for our inspection program as inspections started earlier than normal due to ice-out in March.
The coordinated dock and lift program worked well, but a few uninspected barges were seen on the lake after our inspection program stopped on October 31. That represented some degree of risk which we may want to address for the future.
The dedicated trailers program worked well for inboards and pontoons, but it does not handle tri-toons which are becoming more common on Christmas Lake. To that end, we are considering the acquisition of a trailer that can handle both pontoons and tri-toons.
We were pleased with the 2024 AIS program and plan to continue operating in this same model in 2025.
How to control weeds on your lakeshore – Recommendations from the DNR
Dense aquatic vegetation is completely natural in certain types or areas of lakes but specific human activities increase plant biomass in a lake. The addition of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, primarily from fertilizers and lawn treatments, running into a lake is the biggest factor promoting nuisance aquatic plant growth.
Major factors that contribute to aquatic plant growth include:
Looking to the future as the climate changes, Minnesota is seeing shorter and milder winters, meaning longer growing seasons for aquatic plants.
Things you can do to help mitigate plant growth by reducing the amount nutrients entering the lake include:
As a shoreland property owner or manager, determine how you can implement a few best practices for shoreline management.
Plant control options
If excessive plant growth is inhibiting your ability to access your property or the lake or interfering with recreation, two common ways to control plants include:
Mechanical control
Plants are cut or pulled by hand or with equipment such as rakes, cutting blades, hand-operated or motorized trimmers. Large-scale mechanical control often uses floating, motorized harvesting machines that cut the plants and remove them from the water.
The plants are taken to shore for proper disposal. All plants that are mechanically controlled must be removed from the lake.
Herbicide control
These are not recommended by the Christmas Lake Homeowners Association
Using a herbicide without a DNR permit is a misdemeanor and may result in a citation.
Lakefront planting suggestions are available through The Christmas Lake Homeowners Association.
Traditional methods of AIS identification have required visual identification of new plant species or the use of raked lake samples to determine the presence and extent of known AIS species or to help identify the presence of new infestations. The result of these methods of detection is that new AIS infestations are often delayed until widespread infestation in a body of water has occurred.
The use of eDNA (environmental DNA) to identify the genetic markers for invasive plant species has increased dramatically in the past 4 years. During the COVID pandemic, eDNA testing was used to look for evidence of the COVID virus in waste treatment centers in the US and abroad. This technology may allow us to identify early new AIS presence before plants are physically identifiable and potentially widespread in a lake. With all AIS, early detection is critical and may give a lake organization the best chance to mitigate the effects of the infestation at an early stage in the process.
In 2024, the CLHA revised its mission statement and included language indicating that the association supports and will participate in scientific research. As a result of this decision, the CLHA board has elected to participate in and financially support a research program under the direction of Dr. Lynn Waterhouse of the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center at the University of Minnesota. This study, which is also supported by the Lake Minnetonka Association, will help refine the use of eDNA as a method for rapid detection of early AIS species (of which 51 have been identified in the US, 11 in Minnesota) before plant growth becomes physically evident. Our hope is that this tool could be used in any lake or river and may reduce the risk that a large AIS infestation will take hold in a body of water before it becomes physically evident. Our participation in this research will provide us with real-time results, with testing occurring 5-6 times/year over the next two years. Christmas Lake and Lake Minnetonka will be the only two lakes in Minnesota to receive this information in real-time. If a new AIS is identified, we have the advantage that early and aggressive treatment is possible, hopefully reducing the impact of this new infestation.
Copyright 2024 Christmas Lake. All Rights Reserved
Contact: info@christmaslake.org