Bear Lake

Bear Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Wisconsin average.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. A maximum depth of just 10 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. Bear Lake is small — 49 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Bear Lake sits at rank 24 of 40 in Douglas County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Bear Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.