One of the most popular beaches in the Ramsey County park system will be closed this season, a victim of continuing drought in the area.
The beach, part of White Bear Lake County Park, has become dangerous because water levels on White Bear Lake itself have receded so badly. Right now, swimmers would have less than ten yards of water or so, before they would hit a steep drop off.
The county will be able to keep the boat launch near the beach open after dredging about a foot of sand.
It is just the latest setback on White Bear Lake, the east metro's largest body of water. Right now, the lake is at its lowest level in 17 years and down 3 feet compared to last year.
We asked Minnesota DNR Area Hydrologist Craig Wills why and he pointed to the sky. "No rain; or lack of rain. When you get back to back to back years where you're not getting above average precipitation, that's going to affect the lake," Wills explained. "The area draining to White Bear Lake is not that big," he added. He also points out that because of that drainage area's size, the lake levels fluctuate more than most of the state's bodies of water.
For Jim Hansen, who has lived on the lake for 52 years, the news, and the way the lake looks, is not great. "It's kind of sad in a way," he said.
Hansen's been peddling bait at Little Bear Bait and Tackle for 25 years; if something happens on that lake, he hears about it. Lately, he's been hearing about boaters bottoming out. "You have to be careful. There are things out there that people are hitting that I've never even heard about," Hansen said.
The good news? "Your fish congregate more, they should be easier to find, you don't have the whole body (lake), you've only got part of it," Hansen said with a smile.
That might be good news for Governor Tim Pawlenty, who will celebrate this year's fishing opener on White Bear Lake.
Wills says the only way the lake levels will go up is with rain. "In the late 80s/early 90s when the lake was down, it took 4 or 5 years for it to go up 3, 4, or 5 feet," he explained.
(Copyright KARE 2009. All Rights Reserved.)
