Little Pigeon Lake

Little Pigeon Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Wisconsin lake of its size and depth.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. A maximum depth of just 15 ft means sediment-bound phosphorus releases back into the water column whenever wind stirs the bottom — a classic shallow-lake dynamic. At 8 acres, Little Pigeon Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Little Pigeon Lake ranks 7 of 18 in Manitowoc County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Little Pigeon Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. 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.