Large and small connected lakes throughout the CYR study area support a rich biodiversity of aquatic organisms and represent important foraging and breeding habitat for fish, waterfowl, and shorebirds. Additionally, lakes provide important recreational opportunities and food resources for local residents (e.g., subsistence harvest of fish and wildlife). Small and large lakes were identified based on the definition used in Arp and Jones (2009) to differentiate small (less than 0.1 sq km) from medium and large lakes (greater than 0.1 km2). Lake connections, especially for smaller lakes, can vary greatly and change throughout the open-water season, with ephemeral connections commonly occurring during high flows in the spring. This dataset [...]
