HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 June Lake Mill POI Survey Report2026 Mill Pond (DOW: 27004100, Hennepin County)
Aquatic Vegetation Point Intercept Survey Report
6/28/2026
An aquatic vegetation point intercept survey was completed in Mill Pond on 6/14/2026 for the City
of Edina. The point intercept survey consisted of 74 points. The purpose of the survey was to
inventory aquatic vegetation species during the summer growing season in June. A second survey
will be completed in August. At each site depth was recorded and vegetation was sampled with a
double-sided rake. For every species sampled, an abundance rating was assigned based on how
much was sampled on the rake. The ratings are as follows:
0. Plant species absent
1. Plant species covers <25% of the rake
2. Plant species covers 25-75% of the rake
3. Plant species covers >75% of the rake
This rating scale was taken out of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Guidance for
Delineating Aquatic Plants for Management.
17 species of vegetation were sampled during the survey in 2026 with the most abundance species
being Eurasian watermilfoil (74%), followed by flatstem pondweed (58%). Curlyleaf pondweed was
sampled at 31% of the sites, however, it was sampled at low abundance. See table 1 for full species
list.
Table 1. 2026 June Mill Pond aquatic vegetation species list, frequency of occurrence, and average rake abundance
Species # of Sites Frequency of
Occurrence
Average Rake
Abundance Figure #
Coontail 26 35 1.35
Curlyleaf Pondweed 23 31 1.17
Elodea canadensis 29 39 1.86
Eurasian Watermilfoil 55 74 1.84
Flatstem Pondweed 43 58 1.33
Forked Duckweed 1 1 1.00
Fries Pondweed 25 34 1.12
Large Duckweed 12 16 1.00
Leafy Pondweed 21 28 1.71
Longleaf Pondweed 12 16 1.17
Sago Pondweed 9 12 1.56
Small Duckweed 12 16 1.00
Small Pondweed 1 1 3.00
Southern Naiad 4 5 1.50
Water Stargrass 14 19 1.07
White Water Crowfoot 1 1 1.00
White Waterlily 17 23 1.41
Survey metrics were used to calculate Index of Biological Integrity scores for vegetation richness
and floristic quality index. Mill Pond met the shallow lake state standard for richness and floristic
quality index (Table 2).
Table 2. June 2026 survey IBI metric results compared to the state standard
Metric 2026 Mill Pond Score Shallow Lake Standard
Richness 17 11
Floristic Quality Index 19.16 17.8
Below is a series of maps of Mill Pond site richness (Figure 1), overall site abundance (Figure 2), and
individual plant species distribution and abundance. Submerged and large floating species are
mapped. Small floating and emergent species were not mapped.
Figure 1. June 2026 Mill Pond Site Richness. Minimum richness was 0 (1 sites) and maximum richness was 11.
Figure 2. June 2026 Mill Pond Overall Site Abundance. 68% of sites had a rating of 3, 18% of sites had an abundance of 2,
and 4% of sites had an abundance of 1.
Figure 3: June 2026 Mill Pond curlyleaf pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 4: June 2026 Mill Pond Elodea canadensis distribution and abundance
Figure 5: June 2026 Mill Pond sago pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 6: June 2026 Mill Pond coontail distribution and abundance
Figure 7: June 2026 Mill Pond leafy pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 8: June 2026 Mill Pond Eurasian watermilfoil distribution and abundance
Figure 9: June 2026 Mill Pond flatstem pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 10: June 2026 Mill Pond fries pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 11: June 2026 Mill Pond longleaf pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 12: June 2026 Mill Pond southern naiad distribution and abundance
Figure 13: June 2026 Mill Pond small pondweed distribution and abundance
Figure 14: June 2026 Mill Pond white water crowfoot distribution and abundance
Figure 15: June 2026 Mill Pond southern naiad distribution and abundance
Figure 16: June 2026 Mill Pond white waterlily distribution and abundance