You may have noticed that over the last 10 years or so that it appears that the water levels have been dropping in our northern Wisconsin lakes. It has become particularly noticeable in a number of seepage lakes (lakes that have no input or output of water from streams). It also has become apparent that for a number of reservoirs, such as the Manitowish chain, it has become more of a struggle over the years to reach the "full" level. (This year, though the Manitowish chain is not yet full, it is close to it, and hopefully we will be able to remain at least at the present level thru the boating season.)
If you have noticed this apparent trend of declining lake levels, and have wondered if anyone has been scientifically studying the situation, check out this link to a pdf file of Lake Tides. Scroll down to Page Four and the article, "Low Water Levels in the North - Are they driven by precipitation or evaporation?" I found it quite interesting, and I think you will, too. Lake Tides is produced by the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership, the UW Extension, and the College of Natural Resources at UW-SP.
I also found the first article in the newsletter quite interesting. The article is subtitled "Preserving Our Water Quality Through Positive Food Choices". The focus of the article is pesticide use on Wisconsin crops, water quality, and how the consumer's food choices may impact water quality. I have been paging through the various editions of Lake Tides for some time, and quite often find some interesting food for thought. I recommend it; you may sign up to subscribe to the print version of the newsletter. http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/uwexlakes/laketides/
06/27/09 Update
The Discovery Center here in Manitowish Waters is starting a new program to monitor lake levels in Northern Wisconsin. Discovery Center staff will be working with researchers from the University of Wisconsin Center for Limnology located at Trout Lake. (Limnology -- the study of waters contained within the continental boundaries.) The program will be enlisting citizen volunteers to set up monitoring sites on the various lakes to collect data that may shed some light on why the levels on many Northwoods lakes are so low. Presently 5 citizen scientists from Presque Isle are monitoring Crab, Katinka, Carlin, and Presque Isle Lakes, with plans to grow the program. For more, see the Discovery Center website, an/or Center for Limnology.