Help Protect Our Lake

Help Protect

All members care about the present and future well-being of Kangaroo Lake. There are other non-member property owners on the lake and surrounding areas who care equally about our “treasure” in the middle of Door County. Caring about the lake and wanting Kangaroo Lake to be a very healthy lake is the starting point. There is so much we can learn from scientific study, Wisconsin’s DNR, conservation groups, other lake associations, Universities and Colleges, and experiences of fellow-members of our KLA and others. Below is a summary of concerns our KLA has identified and are working with others on actions to help maintain and improve the quality of the ecology of the lake. Periodically, we will add articles of interest in the following area to our “learning Center” for members and the public to review and learn more about how we all together can “help protect our Lake.”

If you have ideas you’d like to suggest, we welcome your input and involvement, Contact KLA. A small number of people can make an impact and a difference. A larger number of concerned persons can make a greater impact and a greater difference!

Shoreline Buffer Zones to Prevent Shoreline Erosion

Lake residents can consider how, through landscaping and the use of native plants, you can improve the quality of the water of the lake and avoid unhealthy runoff.

How does your shoreland measure up?  You can find out by taking the Wisconsin Shoreland Evaluation Survey. This free, online, interactive survey virtually walks you through your property from the upland area, through the buffer or transition zone, and into the water to learn about opportunities for habitat restoration, runoff and erosion control, and other ways to care for your lake or river. It’s a smart survey that will lead you down a different path, depending on your answers, and gather a score* as you go. Using this tool is entirely voluntary – you can decide to register for an account or take the survey anonymously. If you register for an account, you can save your results and come back after you have implemented best practices to improve your score. You can also decide whether you would like to share those results with a local partner organization (e.g. lake group, municipality, regional lake organization, etc.). Your responses will not be used for regulatory purposes, no matter how you decide to complete and share the Shoreland Evaluation Tool.

We believe the Tool will help:
• Raise awareness of shoreland health.
• Serve as a private alternative to a site visit.
• Direct shoreland property owners to information about Healthy Lakes & Rivers best practices. HealthyLakesWI.com/
• Normalize the process of self-evaluating a property.
• Enable waterbody-scale outreach campaigns and data collection summaries.

*Scores are based on science, and most “Protection Level” properties will have little to no human disturbance.

Here is the link to the online survey tool: Survey.HealthyLakesWI.com/

Read more about Kangaroo Lake's studies and information from the KLA newsletter and our Learning Center on this website.

Protection of Bulrushes: Important to Kangaroo Lake

Bulrushes are endangered around our lake. We need to preserve them and encourage their growth. Read more from the KLA newsletter and our Learning Center on this website about this threat. Also, compare the aerial pictures of plant life from 19XX in the lake with aerial photo’s from 20XX. (See aerial photo’s).

Monitoring Water Quality

Since 1993, a volunteer has been gathering water samples from the north and the south end during the summer and sharing the results on a Wisconsin DNR database in order to monitor water clarity. A "secchi disc" method was used, along with water temperature readings, and testing by the state lab for phosphorus and nitrogen. Read more from the KLA newsletter, our Learning Center and the story on Water Testing: Fall, 2013 on this website.

Boating, Monitoring, and Preventing Invasive Plant Species & VHS

At the primary boat launch and some other lake access points, you will find some Warning signs about the critically important practice of making sure your boat and trailer is cleaned before and after you enter/exit the lake to avoid the spreading of invasive species. To help prevent spreading aquatic nuisance species, fishermen and boaters should familiarize themselves and comply with Wisconsin aquatic nuisance species regulations. Being familiar and complying with these warnings cannot be over-emphasized. The KLA and Wisconsin’s DNR strive to manage the spread of invasive species, including Eurasian Milfoil and Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS), a deadly fish virus, and can only be successful with everyone’s cooperation and vigilance.

Kangaroo Lake is rapidly losing its fundamental aquatic plants that are the only natural barrier to the invasive Eurasian Water Milfoil. Regularly, volunteers have measured the expansion of Eurasian Water Milfoil (EWM), a major threat of invasive plant species and have attempted to eradicate it with little success. Read more from the KLA newsletter and our Learning Center on this website.

Supporting use of Non-Phosphorus Fertilizers

Fertilizers containing phosphorus are now banned near lakes. Read more and make sure any fertilizer you use does not contain phosphorus.

Supporting Wildlife and Water Fowl of all types around the Lake

Supporting native plants and habitat is one of the best ways of supporting wildlife around the lake. Read more.

Community Building: Neighbors Caring about Neighbors

One of the best ways to build community is knowing your neighbors and “watching out for each other” and their property especially when you see something unusual. Make sure you have contact information. You might consider inviting neighbors to a cookout or cocktail hour to get to know them better. If you take any pictures of such a gathering and would like to share them with the website, Send them to us. Another way is joining our KLA and become more involved and get to know more of your ‘lake neighbors.’ Contact us for more information.

Supporting State Safety, Boating & Fishing Regulations

Kangaroo Lake consists of 1,123 acres divided by a causeway between a north and south basin. It is a very shallow lake with an average depth of about 6 feet and an extremely small area with a maximum recorded depth of 12 feet.

During recent decades, Kangaroo Lake has been undergoing ecological changes. Beneficial aquatic plants have declined in both density and diversity. The bulrush patches of the lake have deteriorated so that a majority of the remaining patches are located in the protected portions of the lake. See Map. Two different types of algae are now becoming prevalent on the shores of the south basin. The lake’s water clarity is of concern due to the loss of aquatic plants that normally serve to absorb phosphorus. The lake is moving from a game fish lake to a pan fish lake. Eurasian Water Milfoil has definitely established itself, and the lake has been added to the watch list for Zebra Mussels.

Special Shallow Lake Challenges for Boats

Kangaroo Lake is being significantly impacted by the swirling thrust of motors and hull wash which are disturbing the lake bottom and uprooting the shallowly-rooted aquatic plants. The disturbed bottom may then be further disturbed by wind and wave activity. These actions are adversely altering the lake’s ability to maintain a healthy homeostasis and support its game fish population. Kangaroo Lake is rapidly losing its fundamental aquatic plants that are the only natural barrier to the Eurasian Water Milfoil.

For Safety, review: State boating regulations require that all motorboats must operate at speeds below Slow, No Wake speed within 100 feet of the shoreline, dock, raft designated swim area. Therefore, for those towing water skiers, the pick-up and drop-off sites should be at least 100 feet from the shoreline. Note that for Jet skis (PWC) the Slow, No Wake speed zone extends to 200 feet from the shoreline. Per the regulations, Slow, No Wake speed means “a speed at which a vessel moves as slowly as possible while maintaining steerage”.

Boating & Invasive Plants and VHS

To help prevent spreading aquatic nuisance species, fishermen and boaters should familiarize themselves and comply with Wisconsin aquatic nuisance species regulations. Being familiar and complying with these warnings cannot be over emphasized. The KLA and Wisconsin’s DNR strive to manage the spread of invasive species, including Eurasian Milfoil and Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS), a deadly fish virus, and can only be successful with everyone’s cooperation and vigilance.

Fishing Protection

It is important to be familiar with Wisconsin’s fishing regulations. Please note: there is a special minimal size of 18 inches and bag limit of three for walleye in Kangaroo Lake, beyond the standard State of Wisconsin size and limits (Administrative code NR 20.20 (15)(d). This is to help the walleye population through enabling more fish achieve breeding age.

Exploring how you can get involved in Volunteering

There are several opportunities to volunteer your time and talents with the KLA:

  • Consider serving as a Board member when vacancies occur.

  • Consider serving on a Board committee and help in whatever projects the committee members are working on at the time.

  • There may be time-limited tasks such as efforts to eradicate invasive species, promoting activities, assist in dam cleaning in the spring, photography, water or plant testing, etc. 

If you have other ideas and you’d like to help, respond to contact KLA