Oconto
No
No
No
Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Horn Lake, in the Lower North Branch Oconto River Watershed, is a 131.38 acre lake that falls in Oconto County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1977, Surface Water Resources of Oconto County Horn Lake, T33N, R15E, Section 21
A medium hard water spring lake having slightly alkaline, clear water of moderate transparency. A short outlet flows to Reservoir Pond. The shoreline is 80 percent upland, composed of hardwoods, and 20 percent wetland of open bog. Littoral materials are 60 percent muck, 30 percent sand and 10 percent gravel. Waterfowl make limited use of this lake on their spring and fall migrations. Floating and submergent aquatic vegetation are common in the littoral zone. Fish species inhabiting this lake include muskellunge, northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill and perch. The Town of Townsend provides public access without parking. The navigable water type public access is also available from Reservoir Pond. Thirty-eight dwellings and two resorts are located on the shoreline.
Surface Acres = 132.0, Maximum Depth = 13 feet, Secchi Disk = 8 feet
Date 1977
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
General Condition
Horn Lake (467100) 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 |
|---|
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 434007 | Horn Lake - Horn Lake | 7/18/1979 | 7/18/1979 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 10004135 | Horn Lake - T33 R15E S21 | 7/27/1999 | 9/14/2017 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 10055380 | Horn Lake - HL-1 | 6/30/2021 | 7/7/2021 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 10018941 | Horn Lake -- Access at Along Horn Lake Rd | 5/28/2006 | 9/2/2024 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 10055381 | Horn Lake - HL-2 | 6/30/2021 | 7/7/2021 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 433301 | Horn Lake - Deep Spot | 2/17/1993 | 8/17/1993 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 10055382 | Horn Lake - HL-3 | 6/30/2021 | 7/7/2021 | Map | Data |
| 467100 | Horn Lake | 433371 | Horn Lake - Deep Hole | 6/23/2003 | 11/7/2024 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Horn Lake is located in the Lower North Branch Oconto River watershed which is 389.28 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (68.90%), wetland (22.60%) and a mix of agricultural (2.90%) and other uses (5.70%). This watershed has 410.78 stream miles, 5,377.75 lake acres and 51,397.21 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.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.