Bayfield
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Buffalo Lake, in the West Fork Chippewa River Watershed, is a 184.69 acre lake that falls in Bayfield County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1971, Surface Water Resources of Bayfield County,WI: WI-DNR
Buffalo Lake, T43N, R5W, Section 35
Surface Acres = 189.5, Maximum Depth = 25 feet, M.P.A. = 4 ppm,
Secchi Disk 10 feet
A soft water, landlocked seepage lake containing muskellunge,
largemouth bass, and black crappie. The littoral zone is mostly
sand and gravel, however, scattered areas of muck are also present.
lake shore vegetation varies from an upland of hardwoods, conifer,
and grasses to wetlands of black spruce, tamarack, and leatherleaf.
Aquatic vegetation is abundant with arrowhead, water lily,
watershield, and waterweed being Most common. The extensive
wetlands area surrounding the lake make it an excellent lake for
wildlife. Muskrat, beaver, and waterfowl use is significant.
There is no public access and private development consists of one
private girl's camp, nine cottages, one resort, and one boat rental
place. Three islands having a total area of 2.4 acres and 0.28
mile of shoreline are owned by the Department of Natural Resources.
There is no public frontage on the mainland periphery of the lake.
Date 1971
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
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
Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 1837700 | Buffalo Lake | 10014626 | Buffalo Lake | 9/16/2004 | 9/21/2017 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Buffalo Lake is located in the West Fork Chippewa River watershed which is 284.78 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (62%), wetland (33.60%) and a mix of open (4.30%) and other uses (0%). This watershed has 256.71 stream miles, 6,208.10 lake acres and 60,035.54 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Low for runoff impacts on streams, Low 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.