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Whitefish Lake property owners urge restoration of historic lake levels after DNR recalculation lowered system by about a foot
Summary
Whitefish Lake property owners told the Sawyer County Land, Water and Forest Resources Committee that a DNR recalculation and enforcement of a 1955 water-level order has lowered managed levels in the Lac Courte Oreilles lake chain by about one foot since 2021, creating access, erosion and fisheries concerns.
Pat Weir, a board member of the Whitefish Lake Property Owners Association, told the Sawyer County Land, Water and Forest Resources Committee that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ recent enforcement of an older water-level order has lowered the lake system’s managed elevation by about one foot and produced repeated access, shoreline and fisheries concerns for property owners.
The Lake Owners’ case: Weir said the DNR in May 2021 applied a 1955 order to set the lake chain elevation using a newly installed gauge, which the property-owners group says reduced the system’s elevation by roughly one foot. “What it basically did was, lowered our lake level by a foot,” Weir told the committee. He said the reduction has caused repeated problems over several summers, including boat-launch access difficulties, increased repair and safety costs for town ramps and docks, worsening shoreline erosion and possible adverse effects on coldwater fish species such as cisco and whitefish.
What property owners are asking: Weir said the association submitted a petition asking the DNR to return managed lake levels to the range residents experienced prior to the 2021 change. He emphasized the request is for restoration to historically managed levels rather than raising levels above previous norms.
County response and next steps Committee members asked whether the DNR had scheduled a public meeting; a county staff member said the DNR contact had not yet announced a date for a public hearing. The committee did not take formal action on the matter during the meeting.
Context cited by presenters Weir cited correspondence and recollections from local operators and past dam managers asserting the system historically maintained higher levels. He also pointed to ecological concerns: shallower water exposing Eurasian watermilfoil to more sunlight and possible low dissolved-oxygen stress on deepwater species in low years.
What to watch The property-owners group said it will pursue its petition and expects DNR public outreach; committee members indicated the county will monitor the scheduling of any DNR hearing and that affected townships and lake associations will continue to press the issue locally.
