Corps of Engineers and Red Lake Band partner on habitat restoration study

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, recently signed a cost sharing agreement with the Red Lake Band to study the feasibility of constructing a fish passage in Red Lake and restoring adjacent habitat in the Zah Gheeng marsh in Clearwater County, Minnesota.

The study will assess the hydrology of the Zah Gheeng marsh and the effects of a low-head dam on fish passage. Because the low-head dam was constructed to maintain water levels in the marsh, potential solutions to these problems are interconnected.  

Within the marsh, restoration methods may include restoring portions of the original channel, adding water control structures and other components, to achieve the goals of the project. Measures to address fish passage may include low-head dam removal, rock riffles or bypass fishways. These restoration efforts would directly influence critical tribal resources.

The feasibility study is expected to be completed late 2022.

The Corps of Engineers is authorized to conduct habitat restoration projects to protect endangered public and non-profit infrastructure and cultural sites under the Tribal Partnership Program. This program was developed to perform water-related planning activities and activities related to the study, design, and construction of water resources projects located primarily on tribal lands that substantially benefit federally-recognized tribes.

– 30 –