River and Stream Narratives of the Upper Chippewa Basin

Below are narrative descriptions for waters for which we have a description on file. Not all waters in the basin are listed below.

West Fork Chippewa River

The West Fork of the Chippewa River originates in Bayfield County, the East Fork originates in central Iron County. Both rivers flow southwesterly through Ashland and Sawyer counties until they join at the Chippewa Flowage, a reservoir formed by the Winter Dam. The West Fork supports one reservoir upstream of the Chippewa Flowage - Moose Lake, a water storage impoundment with a thirteen foot head dam. The East Fork supports hydropower upstream of its confluence with the West Fork; the North Central Power Company dam generates electricity at Snaptail Rapids. Both the East and West Forks were evaluated for in-stream habitat using the Wisconsin Warm Water Physical Habitat Rating System. The West Fork has a rating of "excellent", the East Fork rates between "good" and "excellent" (Kanehl and Lyons, 1990). Larson, Nancy and Lisa Kosmond (Helmuth). 1996. Upper Chippewa River Basin Water Quality Management Plan. PUBL-WR-345-96-REV. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, WI.