Leave the trees for water quality, habitat

City News June 26, 2026

The Albert Lea Parks Department recently found a burr oak tree that was illegally cut down on public property along Blackmer Avenue. The unknown person who cut down the 14-inch-diameter tree left it lying in Dane Bay of Fountain Lake. The department removed the tree from the water and is working to replace it.
 
The city reminds residents that trees in boulevards, including those in shoreland, are the property of the City of Albert Lea and only city staff may trim or remove them. Also, like other cities in Minnesota, Albert Lea has a shoreland ordinance that aims to protect water quality by prohibiting clear-cutting and restricting vegetation removal.
 
The Albert Lea Police Department is investigating this violation of the shoreland ordinance. By removing this 70-year-old tree, the violator also removed thousands of square feet of leaf canopy that shaded the water and intercepted rainfall.
 
Every tree along the shoreline helps:

• Prevent erosion
• Filters pollutants from runoff
• Provides wildlife habitat

Manicured lawns that run to the water’s edge do little, if anything, for a lake’s health.

Minnesota laws limit shoreland clearing because a natural vegetative buffer is one of the most effective tools to improve water quality and protect aquatic life such as fish.

For tips on how residents can support healthy shoreland, visit the DNR website.