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  • March

    Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Bass Ponds Marsh & Wetland Habitat Restoration

    The hydrology in the area has changed significantly, driven in part by change in land use and climate. The proposed project aims to improve habitat for aquatic vegetation and migratory waterfowl by providing water level management capabilities that target management goals of the refuge. This study area is located within the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in an urban floodplain area near the cities of Shakopee and Savage, Minnesota. The lake and marsh areas are south of the Minnesota River (river miles 15‒21) and include Blue Lake, Fisher Lake, Rice Lake and the adjacent Continental Grain Marsh.

  • April

    Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Conway Lake, Lansing, Iowa

    Dissolved oxygen is essential for a healthy fisheries habitat. Dissolved oxygen depletion is a problem in the study area in summer and in winter due to a variety of reasons. Conway Lake is relatively shallow with abundant aquatic vegetation. During the winter, excessive water enters Phillipi Lake through openings that are eroding, creating unsuitable habitat conditions for overwintering backwater fish. Shore Slough has less than optimal fish habitat conditions as a result of sedimentation and the high flows from Phillipi Lake.
  • Resident engineer Scott Baker, center, during the weekly progress meeting and site visit Aug. 11, 2015, for the Harper’s Slough project. The Harper’s Slough Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project, located within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, was planned and designed under the authority of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. It will protect five existing islands and construct an additional seven islands using material from the backwater and main channel. The program emphasizes habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects and long-term resource monitoring. Project component includes dredging backwater areas and channels, constructing dikes, creating and stabilizing islands and controlling side channel flows and water levels. Once the project is completed, the project will be turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who manages the refuge.

    Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Harpers Slough, Pool 9, Iowa Habitat Restoration

    Harpers Slough area is a 3,510-acre backwater located primarily on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River in Pool 9, about 3 miles upstream of Lock and Dam 9. The site is in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The purpose is to assess the extent of damage of islands and habitat and determine repairs necessary for the Harpers Slough Project in Pool 9. Construction was completed in 2017; however, two consecutive years of high water (including record levels in 2019) prevented plantings from becoming established and caused significant breaches in three islands. Island loss led to material deposition in the backwaters, resulting in less productive habitat for fish and wildlife and the project not achieving the benefits originally anticipated.

  • Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Lake Winneshiek

    Lake Winneshiek is a 6,000 acre backwater lake on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River navigation channel in lower Pool 9 about 4 miles downstream from Lansing, Iowa. The proposed project would create two islands, each about 8,000 feet long, in the center of Lake Winneshiek to reduce wave action in this large, open water area. If suitable construction material can be found in the backwater area, dredging would provide up to 20 acres of additional deepwater habitat.

  • Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Lower Pool 10 Islands, Guttenberg, Iowa Habitat Restoration

    The Lower Pool 10 Islands are part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program. The site is a 1,000-acre side channel and island complex located on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River navigation channel in Pool 10, about one mile upstream from Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg, Iowa. The site lies within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

  • Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: McGregor Lake, Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin Habitat Restoration

    McGregor Lake is a 200-acre backwater lake in Pool 10 of the Mississippi River. The McGregor Lake project is located on the Wisconsin side of the Upper Mississippi River in the middle of Pool 10, near Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. The site lies within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

  • March

    Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa Habitat Restoration

    This program, authorized by Congress in 1986, emphasizes habitat rehabilitation and enhancement projects (HREPs) and long-term resource monitoring. The HREP component includes dredging backwater areas and channels, constructing dikes, creating and stabilizing islands, controlling side channel flows and water levels, and creating floodplain forest habitat.

  • Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Reno Bottoms, Pool 9, Upper Mississippi River

    The primary objective of this project is to protect, restore, or create resilient and diverse bottomland forests. The quality and extent of the unique forest and aquatic habitat in the Reno Bottoms project area has been declining over the past several decades. Human caused changes in hydrology, land use, and climate have increased water levels within the project area. Without action, the project area will continue to degrade. The quality of forest and aquatic habitat will decrease. Invasive grasses would expand into forests, limiting opportunities for smaller trees to grow and reducing habitat value. Additional loss of wetland habitat would adversely affect migrating waterbirds and songbirds who require the floodplain forest to stop and rest.