Porters Lake

Porters Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Porters Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. At 76 acres, Porters Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Porters Lake sits at rank 16 of 30 in Waushara County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Porters Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. The fishery is bass-led, with 3 documented species across the lake's records. A documented public access point at Porters Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.