Phosphorus Impairment LCO Watershed
Making Every Raindrop Count in Our WatershedUpper Couderay River
Wateshed : Including Billy Boy, Durphee, Couderay River,
Grindstone, Grindstone Creek and Springs, Gurno, Lac Courte
Oreilles, Little Courte Oreilles, Little Round, Osprey, Round,
Sand, Sissabagama, Stone, Whitefish, and Windigo Lakes.
Frank Pratt (WDNR Fisheries, Retired)Prepared for COLA;
5-23-2014
Special Emphasis This ReportWatershed Concept-Run-off vs.
GroundwaterClimate Change- AICImpairmentPhosphorusTwo-Story
FisheriesLocal Level Community Action/Cooperation
Frank 3:16Habitat is everythingThere is no such thing as
enhancement- only attempted restorationWATERSHED, WATERSHED,
WATERSHED..Every Raindrop Counts!!
3What is a WatershedDefinition- Area of land surrounding the
water to which that land drains.Includes all land mass, wetlands,
lakes, human development, everything.Includes soil surface and
those soils and substrates underneath through which water
drains.Geographic scale of one water on up to OceansWater cycle-
Dynamic precipitation- run-off-groundwater-evaporation-flowSum
total of countless raindropsLinked other chemical cycles- nutrients
and sedimentHuman Watershed
Some Basic Watershed TermsSurface
WaterRun-OffGround-waterEvaporation
RiparianUplandIntra-LakeInter-LakeWatershed
Our Human WatershedLandowners on-Landowners off-Outside
usersAgenciesLake and Land GroupsFuture Generations-To Our
Childrens, Childrens, Children
Watershed!Regional Watershed MapInsert Map here
Our Big Three Local WatershedsUpper Namekagon- 200 square miles-
some major lakes and 20 miles Wild River, many miles smaller,
cold-water tributariesUpper Couderay- 125 square miles- many large
lakes and lake chains.*Lake Chippewa- 185 square miles-many large
lakes and lake chains.*(* Linkage via groundwater inflow to Round
Lake from Tiger Cat Chain.)Local Watershed Map-Couderay
1234675891.Sissabagama2.Sand3.Whitefish4.LCO5.Musky
Bay6.Grindstone7.Round8.Stone9.Windigo
Numerous smaller not shownSub-Watersheds and Lake
ChainsSand/Whitefish Creek System- Sissabagama, Sand Lake,
Whitefish Lake, Whitefish Creek (outlet to LCO)Grindstone Creek
System- Grindstone Springs, Grindstone Creek, Grindstone Lake,
Little Grindstone (0utlet to LCO)Osprey Creek System- Round, Little
Round, Osprey, Osprey CreekCouderay R. Headwaters System-
LCO,Little LCO, Billy Boy, Couderay RiverPerched Seepage- Gurno,
Durphee, Stone, WindigoMajor Lakes-Upper
CouderayLakeAreaTypeStreamPOAImpairedLCO*50392
StoryCouderayYesYesRound*32942 StoryOspreyYes?Grindstone*31112
StoryGrindstoneYes?Sand*928DeepWhitefishYes?Whitefish*7862
StoryWhitefishYesLikelySissabagama719DeepWhitefishYesYesWindigo503DeepSeepageYesYesPlus-
Many other smaller, but still important waters. *-Indicates ORW or
nondegradation, State, category. Couderay
Watershed-Land/WaterCouderay Watershed Upland UseCouderay Watershed
Land Use13%Near vs. Far WatershedWatershedWater
acresShoreline%Riparian%S BufferU Namekagon399085 miles4%