ST. PAUL, Minn. – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, volunteers are set to finish the last leg of the district’s sesquicentennial celebration canoe voyage Aug. 17, at Lock and Dam 10, in Guttenberg, Iowa.
District employees started canoeing on the Mississippi River at its Headwaters in Lake Itasca May 20. They volunteered on the weekends to canoe the nearly 750 miles from the river’s source to Lock and Dam 10. They anticipate arriving at the Lock around 1 – 3 p.m.
Completing the voyage on Aug. 17 is significant for the St. Paul District as it marks the date when the district was established 150 years earlier. The district’s first commander, Maj. Gouverneur K. Warren, a West Point graduate and Civil War hero, arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, with orders to set up an engineering office Aug. 17, 1866.
"I'm extremely proud of the initiative and selfless service our team showed this summer,” said Col. Sam Calkins, St. Paul District commander. “Each paddler was a volunteer as they canoed almost 750 miles of the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca to Gutenberg, Iowa, to commemorate our 150th anniversary. The St. Paul District has a great foundation of history to stand on as we prepare to meet the needs of the region and the nation for the next 150 years."
The district’s service includes supporting inland navigation by operating 13 locks and dams and by maintaining a 9-foot navigation channel on the Mississippi River. The district also helps communities reduce damages caused from flooding by building flood risk management projects and operating 16 large reservoirs for flood risk reduction, recreation and fish and wildlife habitat.
The nearly 600 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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