Barron
No
No
Yes
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Moon Lake, in the Brill and Red Cedar Rivers Watershed, is a 73.93 acre lake that falls in Barron County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently considered impaired.
Date 2020
Author Ashley Beranek
Historical Description
Source: 1964, Surface Water Resources of Barron County Moon Lake T35N, RIIW, Section 34 Surface Acres = 83.6, S.D.F. = 1.51, Maximum Depth = 5 feet.
A soft water seepage lake, landlocked and because of its shallow depth, is subject to frequent winterkill and has no fish population. Nine acres of marsh wetlands border the lake and provide habitat for muskrats and nesting puddle ducks. The remainder of the lakeshore is pastureland. There is no public frontage, private development or access roads. Besides the nesting ducks, other puddle ducks, divers, coots and Canada geese frequent the lake during migratory seasons in large numbers. The City of Rice Lake is adjacent to the lake.
Date 1964
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Impaired Waters
Moon Lake was put on the Impaired Waters List during the 2020 listing cycle for elevated phosphorus and algae. Evaluation in the 2022 cycle of phosphorus and algae confirmed these listings, but aquatic plant communities were in healthy condition.
Date 2022
Author Ashley Beranek
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
Aquatic Plant Management Plan
Rice Lake P&R District is sponsoring a project to develop an Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Plan for Moon Lake. The final deliverables include all data collected, agendas and minutes for planning meetings, and an APM plan that includes an implementation plan with methodologies, results, and management alternatives discussion.
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 |
|---|
| 1867600 | Moon Lake | 10047368 | Staples Lake -- Public Boat Landing | | | Map | Data |
| 1867600 | Moon Lake | 10034812 | Moon Lake - Center | 5/19/2013 | 7/30/2024 | Map | Data |
| 1867600 | Moon Lake | 10047365 | Moon Lake -- Moon Lake Boat Landing | 6/27/2011 | 6/27/2011 | Map | Data |
| 1867600 | Moon Lake | 10000696 | Moon Lake | 9/5/2000 | 6/30/2020 | Map | Data |
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Watershed Characteristics
Moon Lake is located in the Brill and Red Cedar Rivers watershed which is 297.68 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (49.40%), agricultural (20.30%) and a mix of grassland (10.70%) and other uses (19.60%). This watershed has 264.90 stream miles, 6,282.34 lake acres and 15,832.05 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Medium for runoff impacts on streams, Medium for runoff impacts on lakes and High for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of High. 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.