Lenore Lake is a partly saline lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is part of the Lenore Lake Basin, which includes several saline lakes (Basin, Middle, Frog, Ranch, Murphy, Flat, Mantrap, Houghton, Deadmoose, and Waldsea) as well as the freshwater St. Brieux and Burton Lakes. The basin has no natural outlet. The lake is within the aspen parkland ecozone of Saskatchewan. Lenore Lake was designated a migratory bird sanctuary in 1925. Raven Island (), located at the southern end of Lenore Lake, is a National Wildlife Area of Canada.
Lenore Lake is relatively shallow and is prone to severe water level fluctuations as it is dependant upon seasonal rains and spring runoff. As water levels recede during the summer, extensive mudflats develop along the shore. These mudflats provide habitat for birds and the lake itself is an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada part of Lenore Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary (MBS). Directly to the north-west is another MBS at Basin and Middle Lakes.
Lake Lenore IBA
Lake Lenore (SK 074) is an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada that covers an area of and includes all of Lenore Lake and its shoreline. The lake is an important staging area for about 80,000 ducks and 40,000 geese during the fall migration. During the summer, about 4,000 ducks use the lake as a moulting area. This habitat is also important to other birds such as the piping plover, ruddy turnstone, double-crested cormorant, and the American white pelican.
Environmental concerns
In recent years, water levels in the basin have risen to historic levels. Nearby Houghton Lake, a highly saline body of water, has drained water into Lenore Lake. To prevent the highly saline water from damaging the fish habitat in Lenore Lake, Environment Canada ordered the permanent closure of a culvert between the two lakes on May 10, 2010.
In 2009, Saskatchewan's Ministry of the Environment issued fish consumption guidelines for walleye and northern pike taken from Lenore Lake, due to the level of mercury detected in the fish.
Fish species
Fish commonly found in the lake include walleye, whitefish, perch, and northern pike.