Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Lake at a C: clarity at 8.2 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 47 signal an intermediate trophic state. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. Lake reaches 24 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 7,197 acres, Lake is one of the larger lakes in Columbia County, with partial shoreline records supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Lake ranks 4 of 10 in Columbia County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Lake, one of 7 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. 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.