Dunn Lake

On the scoring rubric Dunn Lake grades a D: clarity at 6.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added keep it in the lower bracket for Vilas County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

At a TSI of 50, Dunn Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. At only 9 ft deep, Dunn Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Dunn Lake is small — 77 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Dunn Lake ranks 179 of 191 in Vilas County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Dunn Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. The fishery is bass-led, with 3 documented species across the lake's records. 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.