Rush Lake

Facts

• Rush Lake is called a "prairie pothole lake" because it is similar to the prairie wetlands of North America that produce so many of our waterfowl.
• The unique vegetation of the prairie potholes is a product of periodic droughts and water level fluctuations that allow aquatic vegetation the opportunity to become established and sustained.
• Historical records and archeological evidence indicate Native Americans found the Rush Lake area a good place to hunt and gather food.
• This 3,070 acre lake is less than two feet deep except for several small spots that are three to five feet deep.
• About 1%, or 33 acres of the lake, has a hard bottom. The remainder is soft muck, in places over 20 feet deep.
• During severe droughts, probably including the "dust bowl" years, people have hunted rabbits on the dried-up and caked lake bed.
• Surveys completed in 1994 found about 361,000 lead shot per acre of Rush Lake bottom or 8.3 shot per square foot!
  

• The equivalent of 1,284 shells per acre of lake bottom means that over 3,852,000 shells have been fired over Rush Lake!
• 3,852,000 shotshells is the equivalent of about 150 Tons of lead shot!
• Rush Lake is home to several species unique to Wisconsin, including the red-necked grebe and Forster's tern.
• The last major die-off of waterfowl on Rush Lake due to lead poisoning was in 1989. Over 1,270 birds died, mostly mallards.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

For more information about Rush Lake, send email to: DNR Wildlife Biologist.

Questions for Wildlife Management