Vilas
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Snipe Lake, in the Sugar Camp Creek Watershed, is a 215.50 acre lake that falls in Vilas County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1963, Surface Water Resources of Vilas County Snipe Lake, T-40-N, R-9-E, Sections 15, 16, 21 and 22,
Snipe Lake is an infertile seepage lake having clear, slightly alkaline water of very low transparency. Bottom materials consist primarily of sand with rock, gravel and muck. The fishery afforded by this lake is of the bass-pan fish type with northern pike and muskellunge also present. Public access is available over a town road which provides parking facilities. Public use facilities consist of three resorts and one boat rental establishment. There are 12 cottages located on the shore line.
Area = 223 Surface Acres, Maximum Depth = 15 feet
Date 1963
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Snipe Lake (1018500) was placed on the impaired waters list for Mercury in fish tissue in 1998. This water 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 lake is considered impaired for Fish Consumption use and meeting REC and FAL uses.
Date 2015
Author Aaron Larson
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 |
|---|
| 1018500 | Snipe Lake | 10018105 | Snipe Lake -- Access at off Wilderness Trail | 9/9/2000 | 6/8/2021 | Map | Data |
| 1018500 | Snipe Lake | 643105 | Snipe Lake - Deep Hole | 7/23/1979 | 8/21/2024 | Map | Data |
| 1018500 | Snipe Lake | 10006033 | Snipe Lake | 4/14/1999 | 8/14/2024 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Snipe Lake is located in the Sugar Camp Creek watershed which is 187.99 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (58.50%), wetland (24.70%) and a mix of open (13.40%) and other uses (3.50%). This watershed has 123.61 stream miles, 11,669.73 lake acres and 30,139.17 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Medium 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.