The Big Roche-A-Cri Lake management report for 2015.

Management plan for Big Roche-A-Cri Lake in Waushara County.

Big Roche a Cri Lake is a 205-acre impoundment (man-made lake) located in the Town of Preston, Adams County, in the Central Sand Plains Area of Wisconsin. Big Roche-a-Cri Lake has a maximum depth of 22 feet and an average depth of 9 feet. This is a mesotrophic lake with good water quality and fair-to goodwater clarity. Both filamentous and planktonic algae are common in the lake, especially in the shallow areas. Of the 46 aquatic macrophytes found in Big Roche a Cri Lake in 2008, 6% were emergent, 2% were rooted floating-leaf plants, 10% were free-floating plants and 84% were submerged plants. The latter included non-native invasives Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian Watermilfoil) and Potamogeton crispus (Curly-Leaf Pondweed). The emergent invasive plants Phalaris arundicea (Reed Canarygrass) and Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese Knotweed) were also present. Rooted aquatic plants occurred throughout Big Roche a Cri Lake at 74% of all the sample sites to a maximum depth of 12.5 feet. In 2013, the most frequently-occurring aquatic plant was Vallisneria americana (water celery), which was found at nearly 49% of the sample sites. Other commonly-occurring aquatic plants in 2013 were Eurasian Watermilfoil, then Ceratophyllum demersum (Coontail) and Elodea canadensis (Common Waterweed), in that order. The aquatic plants found in 2013 did not occur at extremely high densities in the lake, although there was sometimes significant density of growth in a particular spot on the lake. Combining the relative frequency and relative density of a species into a Dominance Value illustrates how dominant that species is within the aquatic plant community. Vallisneria americana was the overall dominant plant in Big Roche a Cri Lake in 2013. No plants were subdominant. The aquatic plant community of Big Roche a Cri Lake is characterized by average quality, good species diversity, and a significant tolerance to disturbance, likely the result the result of past and on-going disturbances. A healthy aquatic plant community is important because that plant community improves water quality, provides valuable habitat resources for fish and wildlife, resists the spread of non-native species and check excessive growth of tolerant species that could crowd out the more sensitive species, thus reducing diversity.

The plan consists of goals and action items to address natural resource issues and activities for a five year period. As one year passes, another year of the plan will be added so the plan will always reflect a five-year period. Scientific studies, community residents, and the general public were inventoried to determine the goals of the plan. A Lake Advisory Group (LAG) was formed to identify action items, write the rough draft of the Lake Management Plan, and in the future assist BRC Lake District with updates and revisions. The LAG consists of WDNR specialists, BRC Lake District Board Representative, lake residents, community businesses, community residents, Adams County Board representative, Preston Township representative and Adams LWCD.

Big Roche a Cri Lake is located in Adams County in south central Wisconsin and is a 215-acre impoundment (man-made) lake located in the Town of Preston, Adams County, in the Central Sand Plains Area of Wisconsin. This lake is formed by an impoundment of Big Roche a Cri Creek. Big Roche a Cri Creek ultimately empties into the Wisconsin River. The Little Roche a Cri Creek watershed is large, covering 177 square miles and extending into the next county east of Adams. Big Roche a Cri Lake has two public boat ramps, one owned by the county near the dam; the other a rough ramp near Highway 13. There are several Native American archeological and American historical sites located in the Big Roche a Cri Lake watersheds that cannot be further disturbed without permission of the federal government an/or input from the local tribes. The primary soil type in both the surface and ground watersheds is loamy sand. The second most common soil type in both watersheds is sand. There are also pockets of muck, sand loam, and silt loam, along with gravel pits and landfills. Loamy sands tend to be well-drained, with water, air and nutrients moving through them at a rapid rate. Runoff, when it occurs, tends to be slow. Loamy sands have little water-holding capacity and low natural fertility, although they usually have more organic matter present than do sandy soils. Both wind and water erosion are potential hazards with loamy sands, as is drought. There are difficulties with waste disposal and vegetation establishment because of slope and seepage.

The Adams County Land and Water Conservation Department proposes to hire interns to inventory waterfront properties on Big Roche-a-Cri Creek and Big Roche-a-Cri Lake to identify areas contributing to lake sedimentation, phosphorus inputs and invasive species infestation. Major project elements to include: a) shoreline inventory, b) mapping, c) development of GIS layers, and d) project administration.

hire interns to inventory waterfront properties on Big Roche-a-Cri Creek and Big Roche-a-Cri Lake to identify areas contributing to lake sedimentation, phosphorus inputs and invasive species infestation. Major project elements to include: a) shoreline inventory, b) mapping, c) development of GIS layers, and d) project administration.

Shoreland Monitoring, Assessment or Inventory