Overview

Pelican Lake, in the Pelican River Watershed, is a 3,544.79 acre lake that falls in Oneida County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.

Date  2014

Author  Ashley Beranek

Historical Description

Source: 1966, Surface Water Resources of Oneida County Pelican Lake, T35N, R10E, Section 23

A soft water drainage lake having slightly alkaline, clear water of moderate transparency. Sand (40 percent) and muck (30 percent) are the predominant littoral materials with gravel (20 percent) and rubble. The shoreline is predominantly upland (95 percent) with bog and meadow wetlands adjoining a limited portion of the lake basin. Submergent vegetation is moderate in density. Muskellunge, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, perch, bluegill, crappie, rock bass, pumpkinseed, bullhead and sucker are fish species inhabiting this lake. Public access with parking is available. Thirty-eight resorts, two private campgrounds and 284 dwellings are located on the shoreline. Mallard and black duck use this lake as a nesting site. Puddle ducks and diving ducks use this lake on their spring and fall migrations. Water levels are maintained by a water control structure of two feet head located on the outlet stream.

Surface Acres = 3,585, S.D.F. = 1.91, Maximum Depth = 39 feet

Date  1966

Author   Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin

Impaired Waters

Pelican Lake was evaluated every two-year cycle from 2014 to 2022; there was consistently elevated algal growth, though phosphorus did not exceed criteria. Evaluation of aquatic plant surveys in the 2022 cycle indicated a healthy community.

Date  2022

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

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

Watershed Characteristics

Pelican Lake is located in the Pelican River watershed which is 264.88 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (51.10%), wetland (37.30%) and a mix of open (5%) and other uses (6.60%). This watershed has 244.69 stream miles, 8,823.57 lake acres and 59,960.52 wetland acres.

Nonpoint Source Characteristics

This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Medium 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.