Corps awards $7.7 million contract for habitat restoration in Upper Pool 4

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, awarded a $7.7 million contract to LS Marine, Inc., of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, Sept. 26, 2022, to use dredged material, or river sand, from the head of Lake Pepin to restore backwater river habitat near Bay City, Wisconsin.

The project will use river sand from the Mississippi River navigation channel and backwaters. Some of the key components of the project include building peninsulas, access dredging, and shoreline protection to improve fish and wildlife habitat.

Sedimentation has caused a loss of water depth diversity in the backwater lakes and isolated wetlands above Lake Pepin and has caused reduced habitat diversity and quality, lack of aquatic vegetation and invertebrates, and reduced abundance of fish and wildlife.

“This project is a win-win for the environment, our agency and our partners at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance,” said Maj. Nick Vottero, St. Paul District project manager. “We are able to beneficially use the river sand that we remove from the navigation channel and improve the overall habitat.”

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