Door
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Kangaroo Lake is the largest lake in Door County, with a surface area of 1,123 acres and a maximum
depth of 12 feet. It is a clear, high quality lake with low productivity. Its large size and shallowness allow
wind action to re-suspend sediments, which occasionally results in high turbidity. The fishery is
composed of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye, northern pike and panfish.
Date 2002
Author Aquatic Biologist
General Condition
Kangaroo Lake Beach was evaluated for bacteria in 2020; no impairment was found.
Date 2019
Author Ashley Beranek
General Condition
This water was assessed during the 2016 listing cycle; total phosphorus and chlorophyll sample data were clearly below 2016 WisCALM listing thresholds for the Recreation use and Fish and Aquatic Life use. This water is meeting these designated uses and is not considered impaired.
Date 2015
Author Ashley Beranek
Condition
Wisconsin has over 84,000 miles of streams, 15,000 lakes and milllions of acres of wetlands. Assessing the condition of this vast amount of water is challenging. The state's water monitoring program uses a media-based, cross-program approach to analyze water condition. An updated monitoring strategy (2015-2020) is now available. Compliance with Clean Water Act fishable, swimmable standards are located in the Executive Summary of Water Condition in 2018. See also the 'monitoring and projects' tab.
Reports
Recommendations
Information and Education
Habitat Restoration - Shoreland
Shoreland Restoration
Educate and engage residents
Protect Riparian or Shorelands
Habitat Restoration - Lake
The Kangaroo Lake Association proposes to conduct an experiment with the re-establishment of native bulrushes within the southern slow-no-wake area on Kangaroo Lake. Hard-stem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus) and soft-stem bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani) would be planted in plots at different lengths from the shoreline and monitored to verify if they establish and expand.
Land Acquisition
The Nature Conservancy proposes to purchase for conservancy purposes 83.2 acre parcel on Kangaroo Lake known as the Ritger parcel.
County Land and Water Management Plan
Door County Soil & Water Conservation Department proposes to conduct a phased approach to the development of protection strategies for its waters including lakes. This phase of the project will collect and analyze information regarding surface water resources in order to develop specific implementation recommendations for phase II indlucing upgrading regulatory programs. Project deliverables shall include a draft and final report containing: 1) an inventory and classification of county inland lakes; 2) appropriate supporting data and maps and; 3) recommendations specifying phase II implementation activities including proposed regulatory standards for shoreland and lake protection.
Land Acquisition
The Nature Conservany will acquire approximately 60 acres of land situated along the west side of the north end of Kangaroo Lake 1) to create a significant buffer for the large undisturbed wetland/shallow marl lake system, 2) to protect the north end of the lake from large scale development, and 3) to protect the property's dolomite planteau which is a probable recharge site of the shallow aquifer that feeds the lake through springs near share and in Peil Creek.
Nine Key Element Plan
Upper Door PWS Plan - Nine Key Element Plan - The Upper Door Priority Watershed Project plan assesses the nonpoint sources of pollution in the Upper Door Watershed and guides the implementation of nonpoint source control measures. The purpose of this project is to reduce the amount of pollutants originating from nonpoint sources that reach surface water and groundwater within the Upper Door Priority Watershed Project area.
Management Goals
Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more]. Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable
Management goals can include creation or implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, a Nine Key Element Plan, or other restoration work, education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below online.
Monitoring
Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area. Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy was recenty updated.
Grants and Management Projects
Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 153162 | Kangaroo Lake - Site 2 Middle Of N Lobe | 4/19/1995 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 10015094 | Kangaroo Lake Baseline Survey | | | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 153255 | Kangaroo Lake - Kangaroo Lake | | | Map | Data |
| 98700 | Peil Creek | 10058207 | Kangaroo Lake - North | 9/7/2023 | 9/7/2023 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 10049589 | Kangaroo Lake - Beach at Kangaroo Lake Beach Rd | 5/31/2017 | 8/30/2023 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 154002 | Kangaroo Lake - Kangaroo Lake | 7/29/1979 | 7/29/1979 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 10020135 | Kangaroo Lake -- Boat Ramp - End Kangaroo Lk Dr | 7/30/2005 | 8/17/2019 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 10058207 | Kangaroo Lake - North | 9/7/2023 | 9/7/2023 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 10041687 | Kangaroo Lake Access - Obrien Road | | | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 10001285 | Kangaroo Lake | 6/1/1994 | 9/15/2017 | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 167 | Kangaroo Lake - Kangaroo Lake | | | Map | Data |
| 98600 | Kangaroo Lake | 153121 | Kangaroo Lake - Site 1 (South)-Deep Hole | 7/27/1973 | 8/27/2023 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Kangaroo Lake is located in the Upper Door County watershed which is 287.02 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (38%), grassland (22%) and a mix of agricultural (18.90%) and other uses (21.10%). This watershed has 102.85 stream miles, 254,855.32 lake acres and 24,541.39 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked High for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.However, all waters are affected by diffuse pollutant sources regardless of initial water quality. Applications for specific runoff projects under state or county grant programs may be pursued. For more information, go to surface water program grants.