On Dead Lake, property owners survive development battle

Lake property owners on Dead Lake in northwest Minnesota have been fighting lake shore developers for a decade and it appears they've now won.

The Trust for Public Land and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources say 200 acres of environmentally sensitive lakeshore will become a state Wildlife Management Area.

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This shoreline would be a busy marina if the Blue Heron Bay development ever gets built. (MPR photo/Dan Gunderson)

Dead lake is the largest natural environment lake in the state. Natural environment lakes are shallow and considered more sensitive to environmental damage than other lakes.

A developer wanted to build a small community on the lakeshore with condos, a restaurant, stores and a marina.

The Trust for Public Lands says more than three miles of lakeshore are now protected at a cost of more than two million dollars mostly from the Outdoor Heritage Fund and Critical Habitat license plate funds.

- Dan Gunderson

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