Bayfield
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Pickerel Lake, in the Upper St. Croix and Eau Claire Rivers Watershed, is a 88.83 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 Pickerel Lake, T44N, R9W, Section 5 Surface Acres = 90.9, Maximum Depth = 40 feet, M.P.A. = 21 ppm, Secchi Disk = 23 feet A landlocked, soft water, seepage lake supporting northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, and panfish. Natural fluctuations in lake levels cause a management problem. The entire lake is sand-bottomed except for the west bay which is muck. This west bay has abundant rooted aquatic vegetation while the rest of the lake generally lacks cover. The entire lake is surrounded by firm upland with birch, aspen, maple, and scattered pine predominating. Private development amounts to 26 cottages. A town access on the northwest corner of the lake provides the only public access and 0.21 mile of frontage on the west end of the lake is in Department of Natural Resources ownership. This small parcel of land was acquired by the Bureau of Fish Management to preserve this bay for northern pike spawning.
Date 1971
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
General Condition
Pickerel Lake (2489200) 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
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 |
|---|
| 2489200 | Pickerel Lake | 10055148 | Pickerel Lake - Staff Gage | 5/19/2021 | 8/10/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2489200 | Pickerel Lake | 10019314 | Pickerel Lake -- Access at Pickerel Lake Fishery Area | 5/15/2007 | 8/5/2017 | Map | Data |
| 2489200 | Pickerel Lake | 10001465 | Pickerel Lake | 9/5/2000 | 9/12/2017 | Map | Data |
| 2489200 | Pickerel Lake | 043036 | Pickerel Lake - Deep Hole | 4/14/1977 | 8/22/2011 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Pickerel Lake is located in the Upper St. Croix and Eau Claire Rivers watershed which is 277.89 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (83.90%), wetland (9.50%) and a mix of open (4.30%) and other uses (2.40%). This watershed has 153.93 stream miles, 7,654.41 lake acres and 13,694.48 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.