Ballard Lake, Vilas County, is a 511-acre shallow headwater, mesotrophic drainage lake with a maximum depth of 25 feet and a mean depth of 11 feet. Its watershed encompasses approximately 2,339 acres within the Manitowish River Watershed and is comprised mainly of intact forests and wetlands. Ballard Lake receives water from the east from Irving Lake and flows west into White Birch Lake. In 2018, 40 native aquatic plant species were located within the lake, of which Fern-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton robbinsii) was the most common. Two NHI-listed (Natural Heritage Inventory) species were found in Ballard Lake: Vasey’s pondweed (Potamogeton vaseyi) and Northeastern bladderwort (Utricularia resupinata).

*From the Town of Plum Lake Comprehensive Lake Management Plan. For the full report on Ballard Lake please click below:

https://www.plumlakewi.gov/sites/default/files/onterra/TownofPlumLake_CompMgmtPan_June2022_Ballard.pdf

For the Town-wide Comprehensive Management Plan, please click below:

https://www.plumlakewi.gov/sites/default/files/onterra/TownofPlumLake_CompMgmtPln_TownWide_June2022.pdf