The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced Friday that it has acquired a 1,000-acre parcel of land in Hubbard County that now will be known as the La Salle Lake State Recreation Area.
The DNR completed the purchase Thursday. The site includes one of Minnesota's deepest lakes, a coldwater stream, high-quality forest and wetlands, and more than one-half mile of Mississippi River Headwaters shoreline.
The new SRA will be managed as a satellite unit of Itasca State Park, which is eight miles to the southwest.
In a news release, the DNR said the land will provide "excellent recreational opportunities" for hunting, fishing and wildlife observation. It connects a number of parcels already in public ownership. A small area of the property contains improvements that will offer additional recreational opportunities. They include 40 full hook-up campsites, several year-round cabins, and an indoor recreation facility with a pool and kitchen.
The developed facilities will not be opened immediately, but a water access, which has limited parking, is open. The lake, which hasn't been open to public fishing, supports populations of walleyes, bluegills, northern pike and crappies.
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In a news release, the DNR said the majority of the $8.49 million in funding came from the 2008 Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment Act -- specifically the Outdoor Heritage Fund through a grant from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council. Additional funding was provided by the Parks and Trails Fund and the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
