Natural History
Vancouver Lake is home to a variety of wildlife species, many of which it shares with the nearby Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Descriptions from the late 19th century describe Vancouver Lake as clear, up to twenty feet deep and containing sturgeon. Current turbidity, more shallow depths and a lack of aquatic plant structures have diminished the variety of species and more recent surveys showed the most abundant fish by mass were brown bullhead, white crappie, black crappie, and common carp, with a few juvenile salmonids and a population of channel catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, naturalized goldfish, northern pikeminnow, American shad, mosquito fish, largescale sucker, and freshwater sculpin. Rich fringe environments provide habitat for amphibians such as tree frogs, reptiles such as garter snakes and a wide variety of birds, including large species such as great blue herons, osprey and bald eagles. It is within the Pacific Flyway. Large mammals on its banks include raccoons, a few black-tailed deer and an occasional coyote.
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