Cooley Lake

Cooley Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. Cooley Lake reaches 42 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. The lake is compact at 62 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Cooley Lake ranks 55 of 62 in Oconto County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Cooley Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. The lake's fish records list 2 species — a varied community without one dominant gamefish. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.