AITKIN — The Department of Natural Resources is working to add 16 waterways and remove one lake in Aitkin County from the state's list of public waters.
Aitkin is one of the first four counties to be evaluated as part of the agency's Public Waters Inventory Update project.
The DNR will host a public meeting on the proposed changes at the Aitkin Public Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28. The comment period on the changes is open until Feb. 27.
The Public Water Inventory Update began in 2024 after a statute change clarifying that public waters are defined by law, not whether they appear on the Public Water Inventory.
The eight-year project aims to update the public waters list for 12 counties each year, ensuring the list accurately reflects the legal definition of public waters.
It will focus on adding designated trout streams, watercourses that were removed in 2017 due to mapping errors and public water wetlands that are not big enough to be classified as lakes.
The Public Waters Inventory was created in the 1980s. The inventory is an important reference for enforcing state water protection laws and guiding development and conservation decisions.
