Long Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Long Lake pulls an A: clarity at 44.3 ft and 12 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Trophically, Long Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. The lake's 76 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Wisconsin — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. The lake's 112 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Long Lake ranks 1 of 27 in Waupaca County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Zebra mussel presence at Long Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Walleye are documented at Long Lake, one of 7 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.