Wagner Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Wagner Lake grades a B, with clarity at 13.1 ft and 52 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Wisconsin median. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

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 15 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Wagner Lake is small — 4 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Within the 27 graded lakes of Shawano County, Wagner Lake sits at rank 23, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Wagner Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. The fishery is bass-led, with 2 documented species across the lake's records. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.