Buffalo Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric Buffalo Lake fails the cutoffs — a TSI of — and persistent algal pressure put it in the bottom tier. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

There is not yet enough seasonal data to settle the lake's trophic classification — the TSI window remains too narrow to call. At only 8 ft deep, Buffalo Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. With 2,179 acres of surface and partial shoreline records, Buffalo Lake is a large water by Wisconsin standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Buffalo Lake ranks 14 of 14 in Marquette County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Buffalo Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. A documented public access point at Buffalo 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.