This study represents a compilation of three reports. The first report was accomplished by Dr. Joe Amato of Southwest Minnesota State College (SMSC). This report is unique in that this is one of the few times that a social scientist has been involved in a scientific study of this nature with natural scientists. The Lake Committee, however, agreed that a social scientiest would serve an important function in terma of communicating the scientific results to the media and to the public in order to keep them informed of the progress of the study and to assess the attitudes of the public to the lake from a historical and contemporary viewpoint.

The second report is an investigation of the drainage ditches that empty into Cottonwood Lake. This portion of the study was accomplished by a team from Southwest Minnesota State College headed by Dr. Alan Holmes. The preliminary studies of Cottonwood Lake, which determined the eutrophic condition of the lake, was also accomplished by Dr. Holmes.

The third report is an investigation of the physical and chemical characteristics of the lake proper and was completed by Mr. Robert Carlson of the Limnological Research Center of the University of Minnesota. The report also includes a study of core samples of the lake bottom to determine the characteristics of the sediment.