Kenu Lake

Kenu Lake pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Wisconsin average. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

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. At only 13 ft deep, Kenu Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. At 68 acres, Kenu Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Within the 191 graded lakes of Vilas County, Kenu Lake sits at rank 184, near the bottom of the county list.

An invasive species record — splake — has been logged at Kenu Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Kenu Lake, one of 5 fish species on record for the lake. 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.