Wilke Lake

Wilke 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, Wilke Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. A maximum depth of 21 ft puts Wilke Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. The lake is compact at 93 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Among the 18 graded lakes in Manitowoc County, Wilke Lake sits at rank 6, above the county median.

Wilke Lake carries an invasive watermilfoil record — boat-launch decontamination and shoreline care matter more here than at uninfested lakes. Walleye are documented at Wilke Lake, one of 5 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Wilke 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.