History
Lake Iroquois has had and still does have an abundance of wildlife. Up until the early 1940's Lake Iroquois was abundant with fish such as northern pike, walleyes, large and small mouth bass, rock bass, yellow perch, brown bullhead, white sucker and golden shiner. Since then the population of northern pike and walleyes has decreased, allowing an increase in the perch population and a decrease in the average size of perch in Lake Iroquois to occur. Since the 1940's sunfish along with some minnow species have appeared in the lake. Although some changes in the fish population have occurred, the lake is still a good place to fish.
Tests conducted by the Department of Water Resources on the water quality of Lake Iroquois have found that the water is becoming increasingly eutrophic (more nutrients are in the water). As this process continues, the bottom layers of water will be deprived of dissolved oxygen and fish life won't survive near the lakebed. The opposite occurs near the surface, where dissolved oxygen levels are higher and more livable and biological productivity will increase. Our research also found that the lower levels of the lake have depleted levels of dissolved oxygen.
Another major change occurring in Lake Iroquois is the infestation of eurasian milfoil. This pesky plant has traveled from waterway to waterway, clogging its victims with long, tea-colored weeds. It is carried by boats and once it enters another water way it will quickly infest it and become nearly impossible to remove. So far the milfoil has only affected the northern end of the lake. For more information on water quality trends click here.
There have also been some major changes in the land surrounding Lake Iroquois. Just to the West of the lake we have found evidence that a farm or two were present along the West banks of the lake (near skull landing). This farm is no longer in existence and nature has begun to reclaim the land through reforestation. This farm probably was abandoned at least fifteen years ago. Judging from property maps and soil cross-sections, the western banks of the lake may have been used for agricultural purposes as far back as the 1860's. Now the lake is used mostly for recreation.
The damming of Lake Iroquois has changed its appearance drastically. Before it was flooded, the lake was much smaller and different. Much of the northern end of the present day lake was above water along with Spruce Island and Guano Island. The damming of the lake brought up its water level by a little less than ten feet, submerging the land surrounding Spruce Island and the whole northern end of the lake. The damming of Lake Iroquois has caused some of the most notable changes the lake has seen in the past hundred years.
A very noticeable change that has occurred on Lake Iroquois is its name. Lake Iroquois was formerly called Hinesburg Pond. When the state decided a Native American name would fit the lake better than its boring original label, its name was taken from the Iroquois Native Americans who had once inhabited the area.
Method to
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How we determine history
There are many ways to determine the history of an area, which we used to find Lake Iroquois' history. When looking for how the land has been used, it is easiest to look at old property maps and find out who owned what land and what it was used for. Another method is to make a soil pit. By digging a soil pit we can see what has decomposed in the land we're studying. The age of surrounding woodlands can be estimated by taking tree core samples and counting the tree's rings to get an idea of how long the trees have been growing. The types of plants growing can also give us the age of a forest. Young woodlands are composed mostly of tall grasses and saplings; such was the case of the land on the western banks of Lake Iroquois. All of these methods were used when we interpreted Lake Iroquois.
To learn more about Vermont's history click here!
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