Vilas
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Upper Buckatabon Lake, in the Tamarack Pioneer River Watershed, is a 492.99 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 Buckatabon (Upper)Lake T-41-N, R-9-E, Sections 22, 23 and 27, Area = 477 Surface Acres, Maximum Depth = 30 feet.
Upper Buckatabon Lake is a hard-water drainage lake. It has clear, alkaline water of moderate transparency. The bottom materials are quite varied; however, sand is the predominant material. Both the inlet and the outlet are considered to be navigable. A muskellunge-walleye fishery, the lake is considered to have a slow growing, pan fish population. The lake has a high degree of public use facilities. There are seven resorts, and boat rental facilities are available at many of the resorts on the lake. There are 33 cottages and one youth camp located on the shore line. Access is rather restricted to this water. At present, the only form of public access is by navigable water from Lower Buckatabon.
Date 1963
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Upper Buckatabon Lake (WBIC 1621800) was assessed during the 2016 listing cycle; total phosphorus sample data exceed 2016 WisCALM listing thresholds for the Recreation use and Fish and Aquatic Life use, however chlorophyll data do not exceed REC or FAL thresholds.
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
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 |
|---|
| 1620800 | Buckatabon Creek | 10050883 | Buckatabon | | | Map | Data |
| 1621800 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 643114 | Upper Buckatabon Lake - Deep Hole | 7/23/1979 | 8/22/2024 | Map | Data |
| 1621800 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 10058911 | Upper Buckatabon (WBIC 1621800) Center of Lake | | | Map | Data |
| 1621800 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 10006187 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 7/27/1999 | 8/11/2022 | Map | Data |
| 1621800 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 10019371 | Upper Buckatabon Lake -- Access | 6/5/2010 | 8/20/2024 | Map | Data |
| 1621800 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 10058910 | Upper Buckatabon (WBIC 1621800) Application area A-24 - South | | | Map | Data |
| 1621000 | Lower Buckatabon Lake | 10050883 | Buckatabon | | | Map | Data |
| 1621800 | Upper Buckatabon Lake | 10058909 | Upper Buckatabon (WBIC 1621800) Application area A-24 - North | | | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Upper Buckatabon Lake is located in the Tamarack Pioneer River watershed which is 209.26 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (69.20%), wetland (18.50%) and a mix of open (10%) and other uses (2.30%). This watershed has 183.22 stream miles, 14,006.68 lake acres and 23,826.05 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Low 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.