Douglas
No
Yes
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Whitefish Lake, in the Totagatic River Watershed, is a 848.40 acre lake that falls in Douglas County. This lake is an outstanding/exceptional resource water under NR102 under the Fisheries Program. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Bardon Lake (also called Whitefish Lake) is an 832 acre seepage lake with excellent water
quality. This waterbody has been nominated for the "ORW classification. Additional water
quality monitoring information would be valuable for this lake and a self-help program volunteer
would be a good first step.
Date 1992
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
General Condition
Whitefish Lake (2694000) 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
Easement/Buffer
West Wisconsin Land Trust will sponsor a project to acquire a conservation easement on 37 acres including approximately 1/2 mile of shoreland on Whitefish Lake and 4,500 feet of shoreline frontage on a large wetland.
Partnership Project
The Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization, in cooperation with the US Geological Survey, Wis. Dept. of Nat. Res., and private consultants, will conduct a comprehensive diagnostic/feasibility study of Silver Lake and it's watershed and develop a lake management plan.
Habitat Restoration - Shoreland
The Whitefish Lake Property Owners Association, Inc. will implement a lake wide project to renew and protect vegetation that extends landward and lakeward from the ordinary high water mark of Whitefish Lake.
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 |
|---|
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: RES-Renewal & Retention of Native Vegetation | 2000 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake AIS Program | 2006 |
| TOWN OF WASCOTT: Whitefish Lake Water Quality Monitoring | 1997 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization(WILCO) 2016 Clean Boats Clean Waters | 2016 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Clean Boats Clean Waters Project 2015 | 2015 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: LMI-Whitefish Lake Diagnostic & Feasibility Study | 2004 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization, In 2019 CBCW | 2019 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake AIS Program 2011 | 2011 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Clean Boats Clean Waters Project 2014 | 2014 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization, In 2017 CBCW | 2017 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Aquatic Invasives Species Project | 2007 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Clean Boats Clean Waters 2013 | 2013 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization, In 2020 CBCW | 2020 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake 2012 AIS Program | 2012 |
| WHITEFISH LAKE CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION, IN: Whitefish Lake Conservation Organization, In 2018 CBCW | 2018 |
| TOWN OF WASCOTT: Aquatic Invasion & Protection Control | 2004 |
| WEST WISCONSIN LAND TRUST: ACQ-Whitefish Lake - Griggs Shore | 2005 |
| Fish Propagation Actions | 2001 |
|
Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 163390 | Bardon Lake (Whitefish) - Deep Hole | | | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10034069 | Whitefish Lake - Benchmark | | | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10041159 | Whitefish Lake west hillside woods | 4/23/2007 | 4/23/2007 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10034133 | Whitefish Lake - Reference Marker 5 | | | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10041158 | Whitefish Lake West Hillside near boatramp | 4/23/2007 | 4/23/2007 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10002140 | Bardon Lake | 12/2/1989 | 8/18/2023 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10041157 | Whitefish Lake South Shore Site 2 | 4/23/2007 | 4/23/2007 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10034134 | Whitefish Lake - Reference Marker 2 | | | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10034070 | Whitefish Lake - Water Level Gage | 4/28/2010 | 9/26/2010 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 163388 | Whitefish Lake at North Basin Near Gordon WI | 3/4/1998 | 8/12/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10040830 | Whitefish Lake Piezometer No 18 near Gordon WI | 5/18/2005 | 8/16/2005 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10018751 | Whitefish Lake -- Access at SW Corner Of Lake | 6/4/2004 | 9/4/2023 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10034122 | Whitefish Lake - Reference Marker 3 | | | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10040823 | Whitefish Lake Piezometer No 11 near Gordon WI | 11/9/2004 | 8/16/2005 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 163121 | Bardon Lake - Deep Hole | 1/28/1973 | 2/4/1975 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 10040747 | Whitefish Lake near Gordon WI | 10/26/2004 | 11/1/2023 | Map | Data |
| 2694000 | Whitefish Lake | 163389 | Whitefish Lake at South Basin Near Gordon WI | 3/4/1998 | 8/12/2024 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Whitefish Lake is located in the Totagatic River watershed which is 329.93 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (70.70%), wetland (22.10%) and a mix of open (5%) and other uses (2.00%). This watershed has 275.08 stream miles, 6,681.38 lake acres and 42,970.25 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.This water is ranked High Lake for individual Lakes based on runoff problems and the likelihood of success from project implementation.