Burnett
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Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Spirit Lake, in the Wood River Watershed, is a 1,588.69 acre lake that falls in Burnett County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Spirit Lake is a 593 acre, hard water, drainage lake located on Spirit Creek. This lake is
affiliated with the Round - Trade Lake Improvement Association, which has a long history of
enthusiastic lake management activities. Spirit Lake exhibits many of the symptoms of an
eutrophic lake and the lake community is eager and willing to try to improve their lakes'
condition. A self-help volunteer has been monitoring clarity on this lake since 1986 and this
activity was elevated to the "expanded" level in 1991.
This lake should receive a high priority for a feasibility study to document the hydraulic and
nutrient budgets. Some of the signs of trophic stress are present on Spirit Lake but the
dynamics of the nutrient and hydraulic loading rates are unknown. Additional in-lake
monitoring may also be necessary to augment the self-help data and fully understand the
internal recycling picture.
Date 1992
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Historical Description
Source: 1966, Surface Water Resources of Burnett County Spirit Lake, T37N, R18W, Sections 1, 2, 11, 12 Surface Acres = 593.3, Maximum Depth = 26 feet, M.P.A. = 96 ppm, Secchi Disk = 5 feet A hard water, drainage lake located on Spirit Creek. Outlet flow from the lake is intermittent although there is a permanent flow into the lake. The most common fish species are northern pike, largemouth bass, perch, bluegill, black crappie and bullhead. Rock bass, pumpkinseed, carp, white sucker and common shiner are also present. The carp may create a management problem in the future. There is a town road access with parking on the east side of the lake and it is the only public frontage. Private development consists of two resorts, one boat rental, one church camp and 71 cottages and homes. Eighty-three acres of adjoining wetlands provide habitat for a few muskrats and puddle ducks. Numerous diving ducks and puddle ducks may be seen on the lake during the fall migration.
Date 1966
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 |
|---|
| 2650300 | Spirit Lake | 10018465 | Spirit Lake -- Access | 6/3/2006 | 7/28/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2650300 | Spirit Lake | 073040 | Spirit Lake - Deep Hole | 6/29/1986 | 10/7/2024 | Map | Data |
| 2650300 | Spirit Lake | 10001894 | Spirit Lake | 10/3/1994 | 9/30/2020 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Spirit Lake is located in the Wood River watershed which is 220.24 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (50.60%), wetland (25.10%) and a mix of grassland (11.10%) and other uses (13.40%). This watershed has 197.60 stream miles, 5,461.36 lake acres and 34,321.60 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.This water is ranked High Lake for individual Lakes based on runoff problems and the likelihood of success from project implementation.