Birch Island Lake

Birch Island Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Burnett County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Birch Island Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. The lake's 768 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Birch Island Lake ranks 4 of 70 in Burnett County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at Birch Island Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Birch Island Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.