Munger and Bear Lakes are located in the Town of Lakewood, in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northeast Wisconsin. Munger is an 89-acre drainage lake with a maximum depth of 19 feet with very clear water. Bear Lake is a 75-acre drainage lake immediately upstream of Munger Lake with a maximum depth of 20 feet and very clear water. This plan was created to ensure that Munger and Bear Lakes are healthy now and for future generations. It was designed to learn about Munger and Bear Lakes and identify features important to the Munger/Bear Lakes community to provide a framework for the protection and improvement of the lakes.

This strategy and plan is designed to provide guidance on the county and its partner’s roles in maintaining healthy waterbodies throughout the county. Deliberate management and protection of the lake and rivers is necessary to maintain them in a healthy and desirable state. Impacts to the waterbodies may originate in their watershed or on the shorelands. Cumulatively, a number of activities on the landscape can contribute to objectionable impacts to these waterways; however, there are ways to reduce or even eliminate many of these impacts.

The Oconto County Land Conservation department is sponsoring a multi-phased project to develop a County Wide Lake Study and Planning Project for all lakes in Oconto County with public access. The project final deliverables of Bear, Munger, Maiden (Phase 2) + Group 3 Lakes (Phase 1) include the development of a lake management plan for Bear, Munger, and Maiden Lakes. Lake management plans will be developed for each lake through a series of public meetings. UWSP and UWEX staff will facilitate the meetings and provide technical guidance along with invited guests such as the WDNR Lake Coordinator, Fisheries Biologist, etc. In addition, this proposal includes the budget for shoreland surveys and aquatic plant surveys for group 3 lakes which include Green, Shay, Star, Underwood, Ucil, and Wescott.