Corps invites public to open house to discuss habitat improvement in North and Sturgeon lakes

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is hosting an open house in Red Wing, Minn., March 6, to discuss ways of improving habitat in and around North and Sturgeon lakes.  

The open house will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Red Wing Public Library Community Room., located at 225 E. Ave., Red Wing, Minn. During the open house, the public will have the chance to speak with Corps of Engineers officials and staff from other resource agencies. 

The Corps is currently studying ways to improve fish and wildlife habitat in and around the two lakes. Possible activities include dredging to increase the water depth, island construction, summer pool drawdowns and erosion protection. A project cost estimate and possible construction schedule will be determined during the study.  

The study is part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration, formerly known as the Environmental Management Program. The program is a cooperative effort of federal, state and local governments and is focused on habitat restoration projects and resource monitoring. More than 55 projects and 100,000 acres of habitat restoration have been completed since the program was created in 1986.

The nearly 650 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 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.