About the Association
Formed in 1954 and operated by volunteer lakeshore owners ever since, the Association exists to keep Grace Lake clean, healthy, and protected — for today’s families and the generations still coming.
It is our mission to improve, preserve, and vigorously protect the quality of our natural resource for the benefit of all who surround and use it. Through education and implementation of remedial and proactive measures, we will achieve a sustainable balance of flora, fauna, and recreation for ourselves and those who follow us.
That mission turns into a handful of concrete commitments: keep aquatic invasive species out of the lake, monitor water quality and shoreline health, support sound septic and fertilizer practices, cooperate with MN DNR and neighboring associations, and stay financially responsible so we can respond to whatever comes next.
Grace Lake sits about 12 miles southeast of Bemidji, straddling the line between Beltrami and Hubbard counties in northwestern Minnesota. It is one of 144 lakes larger than 100 acres in the Mississippi River Headwaters Watershed and ranks as the 25th largest in that watershed.
Two inlets feed the lake on its northwest corner, running during spring runoff and heavy rains. The outlet on the southeast corner is currently dry, but when outflow does occur it runs southeast to Midge Lake, then north to Wolf Lake, before eventually joining the Mississippi River.
The shoreline is mostly forested and heavily developed with residential homes. There is a public boat launch on the west shore. Maximum recorded depth is 42 feet, and roughly 38 percent of the lake is 15 feet or less — the littoral zone where aquatic plants grow. Grace Lake is classified as a hard-water, mesotrophic (moderately nutrient-enriched) lake with moderate water clarity, Secchi readings between five and seven feet through mid-summer.
Source: MN DNR LakeFinder (DOW 29-0071-00) and the 2025 Limnopro aquatic plant survey.
The Grace Lake Improvement Association (later renamed the Grace Lake Watershed Improvement Association) was formed in 1954 by a group of lakeshore owners with a simple resolve: improve and beautify Grace Lake and the vicinity around it. Seventy-plus years later, the charge is the same.
Over the decades the Association has organized boat parades, commissioned scientific studies (including the ongoing “Grace Lake Bathtub Study”), and — most critically — built and funded one of the region’s most effective boat-access inspection programs. Grace Lake remains one of the few lakes in the area still free of zebra mussels, starry stonewort, Eurasian milfoil, and the other aquatic invaders that have transformed neighboring waters.
The Board consists of seven volunteer directors elected from the membership, serving two-year staggered terms.
The Association meets once a year in spring, typically the second or third Saturday in May, at the Bible Camp on the lake. The 2026 Annual Meeting was held on May 30 at Bible Camp. The MN DNR Bemidji Area Fisheries presented results of the 2025 fish survey at this meeting. The minutes are now available on the meetings page.
Past minutes are archived on a dedicated page, along with the schedule of standard agenda items and instructions for submitting an item ahead of the meeting.
The Association is a Minnesota non-profit corporation governed by its bylaws, first adopted and periodically revised. The full document runs 16 articles covering membership, meetings, the Board of Directors, officers, committees, finances, and more. The highlights:
Any person 18 or older who subscribes to the mission and pays annual dues. Each dues-paying member gets one vote on matters submitted to the membership, including board elections.
Seven directors, each serving a two-year term. Four elected in even-numbered years, three in odd-numbered years. Includes the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer plus three at-large directors.
Held once a year at Grace Lake. All members entitled to vote receive 10–20 days advance written notice. Proxy voting is permitted. Quorum is 10% of eligible votes.
The fiscal year runs July 1 through June 30. Annual dues are payable on July 1. Members in default more than six months may be terminated by the Board.
The full bylaws are available below for any member or interested resident to read.