Iron
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Rice Lake is a soft water drainage lake having slightly alkaline, medium brown water of low transparency. There are two inlet streams, the Turtle River and Bear Creek. Bear Creek affords little or no boating use; however, the Turtle River is navigable but a rapids is located between Rice Lake and Echo Lake. The outlet stream, Turtle River, is tributary to Pike Lake and is navigable and part of the Flambeau Flowage drainage. Littoral materials consist of muck, sand and gravel. The shoreline is predominantly upland (80 percent) with the balance being wetland of the coniferous-bog type. Fish found here are: muskellunge, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, perch, bluegill, black crappie, rock bass, pumpkinseed, bullhead, white sucker, and redhorse. Waterfowl make limited use of this lake on their spring and fall migrations. Nesting mallard have been observed. Aquatic vegetation is moderate in density and in some places is dense. There is one dwelling and a resort located on the shoreline. The only means of public access is that of navigating either the inlet or outlet streams. There is no public frontage.
Surface Acres = 124.8, S.D.F. = 2.43, Maximum Depth = 20 feet
Source:1970, Surface Water Resources of Iron County,WI:WI-DNR Rice Lake, T43N, R3E, Section 23
Date 1970
Author Aquatic Biologist
General Condition
Rice Lake (2300600) 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 water is meeting these designated uses and is not considered impaired.
Date 2015
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
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 |
|---|
| 2300700 | Unnamed | 10002846 | Rice Lake | 8/29/2000 | 11/2/2022 | Map | Data |
| 2300600 | Rice Lake | 10002846 | Rice Lake | 8/29/2000 | 11/2/2022 | Map | Data |
| 2297900 | Turtle River | 10002846 | Rice Lake | 8/29/2000 | 11/2/2022 | Map | Data |
| 2300600 | Rice Lake | 263057 | Rice Lake - (43 03e 23) Deep Hole | 7/23/2009 | 7/23/2024 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Rice Lake is located in the Flambeau Flowage watershed which is 247.18 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (56.80%), wetland (28.20%) and a mix of open (14.10%) and other uses (0.90%). This watershed has 190.98 stream miles, 10,199.06 lake acres and 43,978.35 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.