Mississippi River Recreation and Environmental Stewardship

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District
Published Feb. 27, 2015
Updated: March 29, 2022
St. Paul District forester Bobby Jackson installs a sign on Lock and Dam 3 mitigation property near Maiden Rock, Wis. The recent construction of navigation improvements on the embankments at Lock and Dam #3, resulted in the loss of vital environmental features in the floodplain. As part of our efforts to mitigate these impacts, the St. Paul District purchased 520 acres along the Rush and Trimbelle Rivers in Pierce Co., Wis., restoring 313 of those acres back to native floodplain forest. This isn’t unique to the district. Read more about another reforestation project on a Mississippi River island near Red Wing, Minn.: 
http://go.usa.gov/WB3W

St. Paul District forester Bobby Jackson installs a sign on Lock and Dam 3 mitigation property near Maiden Rock, Wis. The recent construction of navigation improvements on the embankments at Lock and Dam #3, resulted in the loss of vital environmental features in the floodplain. As part of our efforts to mitigate these impacts, the St. Paul District purchased 520 acres along the Rush and Trimbelle Rivers in Pierce Co., Wis., restoring 313 of those acres back to native floodplain forest. This isn’t unique to the district. Read more about another reforestation project on a Mississippi River island near Red Wing, Minn.: http://go.usa.gov/WB3W

Purpose

Although navigation was the initial purpose of Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project, Congress has since authorized the development of recreational facilities, protection of forest resources, and required the consideration of fish and wildlife conservation.

Location

The project begins at Minneapolis, Minnesota (river mile 854.0) and ends just below Guttenberg, Iowa (river mile 614.0).

Description

The Mississippi River recreation and environmental stewardship functions are headquartered in La Crescent, Minnesota. The organization includes Blackhawk Park, a recreation area located 30 miles south of La Crescent, with overnight camping, day-use areas and boat launching facilities. Operation and maintenance of three additional boat access locations at Bad Axe, Millstone and Jay’s Lake landings are also administered by this organization.

A progressive forestry/wildlife program is actively managed under an existing memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for approximately 25,000 acres held in federal ownership in the project area. Much of this area makes up the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

Status

Funding in fiscal year 2022 supports historical Operation and Maintenance activities on the Mississippi River. This includes water level management coordination, land/habitat management, endangered species mitigation, boundary re-surveys and monumentation, real estate management including encroachment resolution and shoreline management permits, operation of developed recreation areas, and cultural resource protection. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provided safety supplies to protect staff and customers during pandemic, along with installation of an automated fee machine to provide contactless collection of day use recreation fees.

Authority

The Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel Navigation Project is authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1930 and PL 78‒534, 69‒560, 92‒500, 71‒520, 85‒624 and 89‒72.

Funding

FY 2021:

Allocation                                                   $2,616,700

FY 2022:

Allocation                                                   $2,624,490

CARES Act                                                        $32,075