Oneida County Land and Water Dept. rolls out lake classification system

Oneida County contains an astounding number of lakes. They are a central part of our North Woods culture, from fishing tournaments to fish frys.

Even more amazing is the high quality of these waters. Healthy waters are essential — not only for our communities but also for the fish and wildlife that depend on them. Once impaired, waters are far harder and more costly to restore than to protect.

With each year bringing increased recreational and developmental stress to lakes, the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation Department (LWCD), together with an advisory group, developed a Lake Classification System to better guide lake protection efforts.

LWCD analyzed each lake’s natural physical features — such as size, depth, shape, and location within its drainage area — along with the current condition of the water and surrounding land. Based on these assessments, lakes with similar qualities were grouped into one of three classes, enabling conservation efforts to be more focused and impactful.

During the classification process, the advisory group also identified four key risk factors that most significantly affect lake health in Oneida County; public access, density of shoreline development, exposure to enhanced wakes, and presence of aquatic invasive species.

It wasn’t enough to only identify these risk factors, LWCD developed a Top 30 Protection Activities list and, from that list, prioritized activities for each risk factor. This provides the county, its partners, and the public with a clear and practical framework to strengthen education and awareness, foster collaboration, and protect Oneida County’s high quality waters for both current residents and future generations.

To view the lake classification lists, learn more about the four key risk factors or how each lake was assessed, visit the Oneida County Land and Water Conservation website at oclw.org and navigate to the Lake Classification Project tab.

For more information, contact JoAnne Lund, special projects coordinator, by phone at 715-369-7835 or email at lwcd@oneidacountywi.gov.

This High Quality Waters Protection Project was funded by a grant from the Wisconsin DNR and focused on protecting surface water quality and increasing public awareness of Oneida County’s high quality waters.