Iron
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Little Oxbow Lake is a medium hard water drainage lake having slightly alkaline, light brown water of moderate transparency. There are two inlet streams, Long Lake Creek and the Turtle River, both of which are navigable. The outlet stream is navigable and tributary to Echo Lake and part of the Turtle River drainage. Sand is the predominant littoral material (80 percent) with the balance being muck. The shoreline is predominantly upland (90 percent) with the balance being wetland. Muskellunge, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, perch, bluegill, black crappie, rock bass, pumpkinseed, bullhead, and white sucker are present. Waterfowl use this lake during their migrations. Hooded merganser have been observed in the summer and probably nest here. Floating, emergent and submergent vegetation is moderate in density. There are no dwellings located on the shoreline. The most convenient method of public access is by navigating either the inlet or outlet streams. The wilderness type access is also available from county forest land and Division of Trust Lands and Investments land located in the vicinity of the inlet stream from Long Lake. There is 0.1 mile of public frontage owned by the Division of Trust Lands and Investments.
Surface Acres = 16.3, S.D.F. = 1.24, Maximum Depth = 9 feet
Source:1970, Surface Water Resources of Iron County,WI:WI-DNR Little Oxbow Lake, T43N, R4E, Section 7
Date 1970
Author Aquatic Biologist
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
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
| Project Name (Click for Details) | Year Started |
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Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
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| 2302400 | Little Oxbow Lake | 10002851 | Little Oxbow Lake | 8/29/2000 | 9/21/2017 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Little Oxbow Lake is located in the Flambeau Flowage watershed which is 247.18 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (56.80%), wetland (28.20%) and a mix of open (14.10%) and other uses (0.90%). This watershed has 190.98 stream miles, 10,199.06 lake acres and 43,978.35 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and Low for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of Low. 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.