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%