Image courtesy of Peter David, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Potato Lake is a spring fed lake east of Spooner, WI in Washburn County. It has a surface area of 222 acres, a maximum depth of 20-ft, a mean depth of 11-ft and is considered the headwaters of Potato Creek. With more than 70 homes, most of the 2.9 miles of shoreline is developed. In 2005, a baseline study was completed that identified several areas of concern that should be addressed in future studies. A new, DNR grant funded project, sponsored by the Potato Lake Association was started in 2010 to do just that.

The activities included in the 2010 Project are designed to gather additional information about the condition of Potato Lake and its watershed. Extensive water quality data in Potato Lake, in tributaries flowing into the lake, and in two smaller lakes within the watershed that eventually drain to Potato Lake will be collected. Information necessary to complete basic water and nutrient budgeting to determine nutrient loading to the lake from various sources will also be collected. Public input into management decisions made on behalf of the lake will be gathered through a Lake User Survey that will be distributed to all lake riparian owners and other interested parties. Survey responses will be evaluated and incorporated in the management recommendations made for the lake. The plant community within Potato Lake will be evaluated by completing an early-season and a mid-season point-intercept plant survey of the entire lake. The presence or absence of such invasive species as Eurasian water milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed will be documented.

Lake, tributary, watershed, plant, and water and nutrient budgeting information will be combined with general lake and watershed characteristics, fish and wildlife information, and current and past management activities to create an Aquatic Plant Management (APM) Plan for Potato Lake. A top/bottom historic paleocore (lake sediment sampling) will be completed to determine if current water quality conditions in the lake are substantially different from conditions more than 100 years ago. Results from this study and the historic paleocore will be combined with results from the 2005 study to determine if more comprehensive lake and watershed management planning is necessary. Lake User education will include a watercraft inspection program, Eurasian watermilfoil (EWM) and other aquatic invasive species (AIS) monitoring, and a Lake User Fair to promote good lake stewardship activities.

Public Project Documents: 

Potato Lake Aquatic Plant Management Plan — 2.28 MB

Potato Lake 2010 Project Results and APM Plan — 1.59 MB

Preliminary Lake Property Owners Survey Presentation  — 1.52 MB

2005 Baseline Report — 5.28 MB

2010 Aquatic Plant Survey Report — 4.58 MB

Appendix A - WiLMS model results — 128.21 KB

Appendix B - Potato Lake Paleocore Report — 103.6 KB

Appendix C - WDNR Northern Region APM Strategy — 56.82 KB

Appendix D - NR109 — 25.72 KB

Appendix E - EPA Approved Aquatic Hebicides — 37.82 KB

Appendix F - Potato Lake APM Goals, Objectives, and Actions — 34.33 KB

Appendix G - Five-Year Implementation Plan — 19.82 KB