Lake Noquebay

On the LakeGrade rubric, Lake Noquebay pulls an A: clarity at 23.8 ft and 19 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. The lake's 51 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Wisconsin — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. Lake Noquebay covers 2,398 acres alongside partial shoreline records, large enough that conditions can vary meaningfully between bays. Lake Noquebay ranks 8 of 22 in Marinette County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Lake Noquebay means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Lake Noquebay, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.