CLEVELAND — Le Sueur County’s Lake Henry is being drained — possibly all the way to the bottom — to kill off catfish and bullheads and boost water clarity, which will promote the restoration of aquatic plants and make the marshy body of water more attractive to waterfowl and other wildlife.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources began lowering water levels in the 360-acre lake in June.
Lake Henry — which is located just north Lake Jefferson about two miles south of Cleveland — was categorized as a wildlife lake this year following a public input process in 2025. The wildlife lake designation, which just 61 lakes in Minnesota have, allows DNR staff to undertake drawdowns and otherwise strategically manage water levels to improve water and habitat quality.
The plan with Lake Henry is to gradually lower water levels by as much as 6 feet over the course of this summer to encourage growth of important food and cover plants. The lake’s average depth ranges from 4.8 feet to 6.3 feet, so the drawdown could eliminate virtually all of the standing water.
“Lake Henry could potentially get completely dry all the way to the bottom, but that depends on rain and other natural factors,” said Tori Drake, DNR wildlife lakes specialist, in a written statement. “Reaching that dry stage is good for shallow lakes, because it consolidates bottom sediments and prepares the substrate for good vegetation growth the next year.”
The low levels are to be maintained through the upcoming winter, which will help reduce the population of undesirable fish species, including carp, bullheads and minnows.
“We hope to get a strong plant response and lower or eliminate the number of undesirable fish in the lake,” Drake said.
While the drawdown might seem like manmade manipulation, shallow lakes in southern Minnesota dried up periodically in previous centuries, according to the DNR.
“Historically, this drying and consolidation was a naturally recurring process, but it doesn’t happen often now unless we deliberately lower the water,” Drake said.
If all goes according to plan, the lake will be allowed to refill in the spring — a process that will be left to nature and the pace of which will depend on the amount of precipitation that falls. On the other hand, if excess precipitation or other factors this summer and fall keep the water levels too high during the upcoming winter, the drawdown may need to be repeated next year.
Funding for the Lake Henry drawdown was provided by Minnesota’s Game and Fish Fund, which receives revenue from hunting and fishing licenses and the state Duck Stamp. Duck Stamp revenue is dedicated to waterfowl research, management and habitat protection and development, with about $700,000 targeted each year at waterfowl habitat enhancement projects on state wildlife management areas and shallow lakes.