Town of Winchester Lakes

Strength in Numbers

Monitoring the Winchester Town Lakes for Aquatic Invasive Species is a challenging feat and you can help. Learn how to identify our biggest threats and look for them when you are out on the water. Record your hours on our form below and submit them.

  •   Your time is money. Volunteer time = $15/hour leveraged as cost share to receiving grant funding.
  •   Attend an AIS and Healthy Lakes workshop to learn how to identify and report.
  •   Look for AIS when you're on the water.
Report Your Volunteer Time

Winchester Lakes Committee

Visit their website to learn more about ongoing projects with the Town of Winchester's lakes.

Town's Lakes Committee Website

Most Recent AIS Mapping

Yellow Iris (YI) was first documented in the Turtle Lakes Chain in 2018 and Pardee Lake. Over the past decade, NLDC has partnered with the Turtle Lakes Chain Association (TLCA), Pardee Lake Association, and property owners to monitor and manage YI. Additional, larger scale, shoreline restoration projects have also been implemented by NLDC. 


Turtle Lakes Chain Yellow Iris Map, 2025

Pardee Lake Yellow Iris Map, 2025


Curly-leaf Pondweed (CLP) was first detected in Harris Lake in 2008. Over the past years variety of control efforts have been used and the population is maintained today by a combination of hand-harvesting and diver assisted suction harvest (DASH). Harris Lake remains the only lake in the Town of Winchester with known CLP.



Harris Lake Curly-leaf Pondweed Map, 2025

Purple Loosestrife is monitored yearly by NLDC and managed periodically through biocontrol beetles and manual removal throughout the Town of Winchester. Pardee, Adelaide, and South Turtle Lakes have been documented to have purple loosestrife.




Purple Loosestrife  Map, 2026 (coming soon)

Reports

The Town Aquatic Invasive Species Partnership (TAISP) consists of the North Lakeland Discovery Center (NLDC), the Manitowish Waters Lakes Association (MWLA), the Winchester Town Lakes Committee (WTLC), and the Towns of Manitowish Waters, Boulder Junction, and Winchester. This yearly report, summarizes aquatic invasive species (AIS) and other projects that have occurred.

The comprehensive plan for the Town of Winchester Lakes was developed by Onterra, LLC and approved in October 2020. This plan was funded by North Lakeland Discovery Center, Town of Winchester, and several WI DNR Surface Water grants. The planning committee was comprised of riparian property owners from ten lakes in the Town of Winchester.

The comprehensive plan for the Manitowish Waters Chain of Lakes recommends periodic vegetation monitoring updates. Following the same phased approach as the first series of planning efforts, aquatic plant point intercept (PI) data has been collected by NLDC and findings are reported below.