Douglas
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No
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Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Red Lake, in the Totagatic River Watershed, is a 253.45 acre lake that falls in Douglas County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1973, Surface Water Resources of Douglas County Red Lake, T43N, R11W, Section 29, Surface Acres-252.0, Maximum Depth-39 feet, M.P.A.-39 ppm, Secchi Disk-11 feet A soft water seepage lake, it is landlocked and has sufficient depth to prevent winterkill conditions. The dominant game fish is northern pike, but walleyes and largemouth bass are also common to the lake. The dominant panfish is the bluegill, followed by rock bass, perch, black bullhead, and pumpkinseed. Smallmouth bass are also present, along with white suckers and several minnow species. The lake has clear water and a mostly sandy beach. There is also about fifteen percent of the shore which-has spruce, tamarack, and leatherleaf bog with adjacent muck bottomed littoral. Mixed conifer and hardwoods are found on the upland shore. A total of 255 acres of wetlands adjacent to the lake provides nesting habitat for mallards, wood ducks, and loons. There are 34 cottages, mostly on the west shore of the lake, and a resort and boat access at the north end. The only other public frontage is another access located on the southwest shore.
Date 1973
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
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
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 2492100 | Red Lake | 10002139 | Red Lake | 4/29/1996 | 9/12/2017 | Map | Data |
| 2492100 | Red Lake | 163383 | Red Lake - Deep Hole | 7/31/1993 | 9/29/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2492100 | Red Lake | 10018971 | Red Lake -- Access at Heinz Rd. | 5/25/2009 | 9/6/2021 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Red 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.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.