Stratton Ponds

On the LakeGrade scale Stratton Ponds grades a B, with clarity at 9.8 ft and 21 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Wisconsin median. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Stratton Ponds: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. Stratton Ponds is a shallow lake at 6 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. The lake is compact at 8 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Within the 55 graded lakes of Bayfield County, Stratton Ponds sits at rank 53, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Stratton Ponds — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. The state fisheries records do not list documented species for Stratton Ponds, which usually reflects a lack of formal fisheries survey work rather than an empty lake. 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.