page_title: Lake of the Woods (Oregon)
section_title: Lake environment
hierarchical_section_title: Lake of the Woods (Oregon) / Lake environment
caption_attribution_description: English: Downed trees along the shore of Lake of the Wood in the Winema National Forest of southern Oregon
context_page_description: Lake of the Woods is a natural lake near the crest of the Cascade Range in the Fremont–Winema National Forest in southern Oregon in the United States. The lake covers 1,146 acres. It was named by Oliver C. Applegate in 1870. Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife manages the lake's fishery. The small unincorporated community of Lake of the Woods is located on the east shore of the lake. Lake of the Woods is one of southern Oregon's most popular outdoor recreation sites.
context_section_description: Lake of the Woods is a natural lake that covers 1,146 acres (4.64 km²).  It is approximately 2.75 miles (4.43 km) long and 0.75 miles (1.21 km) wide.  The lake has an average depth of 27 feet (8.2 m) with a maximum depth of 55 feet (17 m) near the western shore.  The water levels in Lake of the Woods only fluctuate about 2 feet (0.61 m) during a normal year.  The surface water normally warms to the low 70s °F (low 20s °C) in the summer and freezes in the winter.  The lake's bottom is 52 percent detritus, 19 percent sand, 15 percent vegetation, 11 percent rock, and 3 percent mud.
  There have been a number of studies of lake's environment and water quality.  Oregon State University published studies of the lake environment in 1972 and 1985.  In 1992, Rogue Community College began monitoring water quality in the lake.  Some of the parameters that are regularly tested include depth, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, transmissivity, turbidity, Secchi depth, chlorophyll, bacteria, total phosphorus, orthophosphate,  alkalinity, and total dissolved solids.  In 1996, the United States Geological Survey conducted a high-resolution acoustic survey and drilled sediment cores from the lake.  In 2002, Portland State University reported the findings of volunteer monitors in their Lake Watch program.  The monitors found some variation in the water transparency and seasonal patterns of hypolimnetic oxygen depletion.  In 2004, the Fremont–Winema National Forest studied the impact of recreational residence permits on the lake environment.  The assessment identified the early signs of shoreline erosion.  While these studies produced some cautionary findings, taken overall, they indicate that the Lake of the Woods ecosystem is handling the stress of human use relatively well.
  While the water quality in Lake of the Woods has not been significantly degraded by heavy recreational use, additional development could do so.  To prevent this, the Forest Service began taking proactive steps to preserve the lake's water quality in the mid-1990s. These actions included closing some roads near the lake, funding a number of road drainage improvement projects, and initiating a soil conservation education program.  The Forest Service also encourages cabin owners to install new septic systems and actively promotes the use of low-phosphate detergents in the Lake of the Woods community.  It also created the Dry Creek Riparian Reserve to restrict development.  When studies indicated that increasing use of motorized watercraft was contributing to shoreline erosion, the Forest Service amended Lake of the Woods recreational residence permits to require permit holders to plant native vegetation along the shoreline of the lake, and prohibited the removal of naturally fallen trees along the shoreline.  So far, these measures have been successful in protecting the lake's water quality and minimizing shoreline erosion.
caption: Fallen tree left to protect the lake shore
exif: {"Image DateTime": "2010:08:26 16:00:46", "Image DocumentName": "IMG_0291.jpg", "Image ImageDescription": "Contract: NRSO\nPark: 73539"}