Douglas
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Simms Lake, in the Upper St. Croix and Eau Claire Rivers Watershed, is a 150.82 acre lake that falls in Douglas County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1973, Surface Water Resources of Douglas County Simms Lake, T44N, R11,10W, Section 25, 30, Surface Acres-152.0, Maximum Depth-41 feet, M.P.A.-31 ppm, Secchi Disk-17 feet A soft water seepage lake, it is landlocked and surrounded by jack pine, red pine, and oak typical of this sandy soil region. It has clear water and mostly sand littoral bottom, with some gravel and boulder areas. The fishery of Simms Lake at the present time is composed of northern pike, largemouth bass and panfish. The latter group includes cyclically varying numbers of the following species: perch, bluegills, black crappies, pumpkinseed, rock bass, green sunfish, and bullhead. White suckers and a few minnow species are also present. The lake is significantly lacking in northern pike spawning areas. From 1958 to 1968 the lake was stocked with various species of trout -- brook, brown, and rainbow. This type of two-story management was then discontinued in favor of its present management of only a warmwater fishery. Stunting of panfish was apparently a problem in years past. The water level of the lake fluctuates to some degree from dry to wet years, to the extent of about 3 to 4 feet. The only wetland is an occasional grassy meadow bordering the shore. Waterfowl and furbearer use of the lake is small for a lake of this size. The private development of the lakeshore includes a resort and boat rental and 21 cottages. The only public frontage is an unimproved walk-in type access to the west 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
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 |
|---|
| 2497100 | Simms Lake | 10019056 | Simms Lake -- Access | 11/5/2013 | 8/4/2020 | Map | Data |
| 2497100 | Simms Lake | 10002194 | Simms Lake | 9/5/2000 | 9/12/2017 | Map | Data |
| 2497100 | Simms Lake | 10055153 | Simms Lake - Staff Gage | 5/26/2021 | 10/2/2021 | Map | Data |
| 2497100 | Simms Lake | 10033366 | Simms Lake - Deepest Spot | | | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Simms 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.