Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade

Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade earns a D — measurements through 2024 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

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. The lake bottoms out at 24 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. With 7,197 acres of surface and partial shoreline records, Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade is a large water by Wisconsin standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade ranks 8 of 10 in Columbia County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Zebra mussels have been documented at Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. Walleye are documented at Lake Wisconsin Whalen'S Grade, 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.