Marinette
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Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Birch Lake, in the Wausaukee and Lower Menominee Rivers Watershed, is a 17.33 acre lake that falls in Marinette County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
A hard water drainage lake having slightly alkaline, clear water of high transparency. The littoral zone is composed of muck (90 percent) and some marl. The shoreline is 80 percent wetland, consisting primarily of shrub bog, and 20 percent upland of mixed hardwoods and conifers. The known fish population includes northern pike and perch. Waterfowl make limited use of this lake. Floating and submergent Vegetation are moderate in density over 35 to 40 percent of the basin. Navigable water public access is available via the inlet. No dwellings are located on the shoreline. The inlet and outlet are part of Wolf Creek. Source: 1975, Surface Water Resources of Marinette County Birch Lake, T34N, R21E, Section 17, Surface Acres-11.7, Secchi Disk-12 feet, Maximum Depth-22 feet
Date 1975
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 |
|---|
| 614100 | Birch Lake | 10003821 | Birch Lake | 7/27/1999 | 9/7/2011 | Map | Data |
| 614100 | Birch Lake | 10007677 | Birch Lake - Deep Hole | | | Map | Data |
| 613900 | Wolf Creek | 10042719 | Wolf Creek 10m US Naragon Rd | 8/13/2014 | 1/1/2015 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Birch Lake is located in the Wausaukee and Lower Menominee Rivers watershed which is 187.05 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (49.50%), wetland (34.50%) and a mix of grassland (6.30%) and other uses (9.70%). This watershed has 204.27 stream miles, 5,835.97 lake acres and 33,470.94 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Low 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.