Citizens Lake Monitoring Network

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources runs the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network (CLMN).  The core of the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, CLMN creates a bond between over 1,000 citizen volunteers statewide and the DNR.  Its goals are to collect high quality data, to educate and empower volunteers, and to share this data and knowledge.

WLA volunteers take water quality and chemistry samples four times each open water season. The first is taken within two weeks of ice out, and the remaining are taken during the second half of the months of June, July, and August. Volunteers measure water clarity using the Secchi Disk method. Volunteers may also collect water chemistry(phosphorus, chlorophyll), temperature and dissolved oxygen data, as well as monitor for the first appearance of aquatic invasive species near boat landings, other access points, or along the shoreline. A video about CLMN testing processes is here. 

The water quality of Wheeler Lake is very good based on data collected over the years. The quality has remained stable when comparing a sample from 1976 to many samples collected from 1986 to 2020. The clarity is very good with secchi reading to 31.5 feet and total phosphorus average at 10 ug/l. This classifies the lake as oligotrophic meaning it is a deep, clear lake with low nutrient levels, low productivity and a desirable fishery of large gamefish.