Lake Chippewa Flowage Vacation

The Chippewa Flowage Partners Group, comprised of appointed representatives from the Chippewa Flowage Area Property Owners Association, the Lake Chippewa Flowage Resort Association, the WI Department of Natural Resources, the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Government, the US Forest Service, the WI Conservation Congress and Xcel Energy have once again agreed to change the “Normal” drawdown of the Chippewa Flowage Fall 2014. Rob Olson of Xcel Energy states, “Historically, the Chippewa Flowage dam was built to provide water for flow augmentation to downstream hydro plants and for flood control. The Winter Dam is operated such that it captures water during periods of excess river flow (typically spring and fall) and releases water during periods of low river flows (winter and summer months). Over the past 91 years, 68 have had a vertical drawdown of 8 feet or more and 23 years have had a drawdown of less than 8 feet.” Fall of 2013, the CF Partners group voted to change the timing from the historical drawdowns by drawing water BEFORE ice over of the lake, rather than drawing the water from under the ice after freeze-up. The early drawdown of 5 feet before freeze up with another 3 feet over the winter months, totaling an 8 foot drawdown, followed the guidelines as laid out in the “Chippewa Flowage Aquatic Management Plan” done by Dr. Erik R. Olson and Dan Tyrolt of the LCO Conservation Dept. in 2008 and has many possible benefits to the whole ecosystem.

The drawdown objective in 2013 was to try to gain control of the Eurasian water milfoil, with other benefits for the fishery and erosion of shorelines. In 2013, the water level hit 5 feet below full head in about mid-November(1308′). With an extremely cold late November, the lake froze over earlier than normal and had a deep snow cover which persisted through the winter. The exposed 5 feet of bottom did not have sufficient time to de-water and develop a hard freeze. Despite those conditions, observations by aquatic plant experts made during the summer of 2014 indicated that the invasive plant abundance was drastically reduced and there was a return of native plants in many areas. A three year Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant has been secured by LCO Conservation to conduct studies of plants over the next three years, with the help of Dr. Erik Olson.

Max Wolter, Fisheries Biologist of the WDNR, and the GLIFWC staff have completed the fall fish surveys on both the East and West side of the Chippewa Flowage. One goal of these surveys was to assess whether the 2013-14 drawdown improved recruitment of walleye. According to Wolter, “The results of this survey were very encouraging, with an impressive increase in the 2014 Young of Year(YOY) walleye fish counts on both sides.” Final figures are not tabulated yet, but the estimate at this time is that there are about 28 YOY per mile of shoreline surveyed, which is by far the largest walleye year class since 2006. “One explanation for the sudden increase in walleye is the improved spawning conditions for these fish that were created by the drawdown which knocked down weeds on spawning areas and re-oxygenated the lake bed.” With another year of the early drawdown, some of the areas that did not have time to de-water and freeze hard before the freeze up in 2013, will hopefully do so in 2014 and further increase spawning success. “The stocking over the last few years has been great, and we’ve had some success with that, but this walleye year class was exactly what we needed to get walleye back on track in the Flowage” says Wolter. Any lake that can sustain natural reproduction can be an outstanding fishery, as stocked fisheries usually result in a much lower abundance of walleye. Understanding and effectively using drawdowns as a fishery tool going forward could bring the Big Chip back to the walleye factory it had been known for in past years.

The dissolved oxygen(DO) measurements from last winter showed a very good overwintering habitat in most areas of the Flowage, despite a harsh winter. With a similar drawdown design, the Partners expect good overwintering conditions for fish again in 2014.

Another concern in 2013 was for the wildlife(frogs, turtles, etc.) that hibernate in the shallows and the furbearers, such as beavers and otters. Although there were no studies done on any of these critters, there were no indications that there were problems with the survival these animals. There are no studies currently on any of these species, but it has been suggested that a citizen group might be trained to do this study in the future.

Erosion of shorelines and islands is a great concern on the Big Chip. The proposed lower water levels prevent major erosion of shorelines. Historically, Xcel and their predecessors would try to have the lake at full head (1313′) going into the winter months, as they would be using that water to produce hydro-electricity when daylight is minimal and the temps are the coldest late December through early March. Fall is typically a windy season, so the early drawdown prevents the pounding of shorelines with high water late in the open water season, as occurred historically.

A benefit that was not considered in 2013 was the erosion control done by the DNR and private landowners with a lower water level in the fall. Many permits were issued for rip-rap work and the DNR took the opportunity to work on the public boat landings, filling “power loading ” holes in the ramps and extending the length of the ramps. Hopefully, there will be more improvements made by the DNR again during fall of 2014, as well as other property owners as they become aware of the early drawdown.

With all concerns discussed at length, the CF Partners Group have unanimously recommended to Xcel Energy that a drawdown similar to that done in 2013 be repeated in 2014. This will include a maximum drawdown of 8 feet, with the first 5 feet drawn off before freeze up (on or before Nov. 15, 2014). With normal weather, this should allow the exposed lake bottom to de-water, freeze hard, deterring the weed growth in those areas exposed and provide benefits to the fishery and erosion. Studies of plants and fish are already being planned for future years and these results will allow the CF Partners to make recommendations for the future control of the water levels of the Chippewa Flowage. After an extreme volume of precipitation this summer and fall in our area and further downstream to the other Xcel hydro plant areas, the lake level is at 1312.10 on Sept.25, with a full head at 1313′ above sea level.

Robert Olson of Xcel Energy says “The Chippewa Flowage Partners urge caution on the Chippewa Reservoir(Flowage) for boaters during the end of the open-water season as well as for other recreationists utilizing the reservoir during the winter season.”