Fact Sheet 02: St. Paul District

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District
Published May 7, 2015
Updated: Feb. 24, 2023
Mississippi River headwaters at Lake Itasca

Mississippi River headwaters at Lake Itasca

The Pokegama Recreation Area is situated on the Mississippi River at the western edge of Grand Rapids, Minn. Festivals and events held throughout the summer in nearby Grand Rapid make our campsites very convenient for area visitors and travelers on U.S. Highway 2. 
  The recreation area offers camping, boating, picnicking, fishing and playground areas. There are 19 camp sites and two tent sites. The camp and tents site adjacent to the Mississippi River gives campers a spectacular view of the river. The picnic area is located near the parking area and close enough to the river for breezy winds on a hot day. 
  Pokegama Lake is a highly utilized lake for recreational purposes, such as fishing, boating, waterskiing and personal watercraft use. A boat ramp just north of the dam gives boaters access to the river. The fish population includes walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pan fish and the occasional lake trout. USACE photo by Patrick Moes

The Pokegama Recreation Area is situated on the Mississippi River at the western edge of Grand Rapids, Minn. Festivals and events held throughout the summer in nearby Grand Rapid make our campsites very convenient for area visitors and travelers on U.S. Highway 2. The recreation area offers camping, boating, picnicking, fishing and playground areas. There are 19 camp sites and two tent sites. The camp and tents site adjacent to the Mississippi River gives campers a spectacular view of the river. The picnic area is located near the parking area and close enough to the river for breezy winds on a hot day. Pokegama Lake is a highly utilized lake for recreational purposes, such as fishing, boating, waterskiing and personal watercraft use. A boat ramp just north of the dam gives boaters access to the river. The fish population includes walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pan fish and the occasional lake trout. USACE photo by Patrick Moes

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.: <a href="http://go.usa.gov/WB3W" rel="nofollow">go.usa.gov/WB3W</a>
USACE photo by Randy Urich

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.: <a href="http://go.usa.gov/WB3W" rel="nofollow">go.usa.gov/WB3W</a> USACE photo by Randy Urich

HASTINGS, Minn. - The unofficial end to 2013 navigation season Upper Mississippi River was marked early in the morning of November 27 when Motor Vessel Ginger Griffin New locked through Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minn.

HASTINGS, Minn. - The unofficial end to 2013 navigation season Upper Mississippi River was marked early in the morning of November 27 when Motor Vessel Ginger Griffin New locked through Lock and Dam 2, near Hastings, Minn.

Sam Mathiowetz, an equipment repairman at Lock and Dam 1 in Minneapolis, demonstrates how a lock on the nation’s inland waterway system works to one of the young visitors to stop by our booth at the Minnesota State Fair’s Military Appreciation Day on August 27, 2013. Our lock model was a hit with all ages, whether it was the kid that wanted to play with the boat or the adult that’s taken his recreation craft through one of the full size facilities on the Mississippi River.

Sam Mathiowetz, an equipment repairman at Lock and Dam 1 in Minneapolis, demonstrates how a lock on the nation’s inland waterway system works to one of the young visitors to stop by our booth at the Minnesota State Fair’s Military Appreciation Day on August 27, 2013. Our lock model was a hit with all ages, whether it was the kid that wanted to play with the boat or the adult that’s taken his recreation craft through one of the full size facilities on the Mississippi River.

The St. Paul District operates 49 recreation areas, ranging from public landings along the Mississippi River to lock and dam visitor centers to full-service campgrounds. These recreation areas are an important component of the region’s tourism industry, and the impact on the local and regional economies is significant.

The St. Paul District operates 49 recreation areas, ranging from public landings along the Mississippi River to lock and dam visitor centers to full-service campgrounds. These recreation areas are an important component of the region’s tourism industry, and the impact on the local and regional economies is significant.

The St. Paul District operates 49 recreation areas, ranging from public landings along the Mississippi River to lock and dam visitor centers to full-service campgrounds. These recreation areas are an important component of the region’s tourism industry, and the impact on the local and regional economies is significant.

The St. Paul District operates 49 recreation areas, ranging from public landings along the Mississippi River to lock and dam visitor centers to full-service campgrounds. These recreation areas are an important component of the region’s tourism industry, and the impact on the local and regional economies is significant.

A tow operates on the Upper Mississippi River

A tow operates on the Upper Mississippi River

The St. Paul District is where the “Mighty Mississippi River” starts its long journey through the middle of the United States of America to the Gulf of Mexico. The district borders follow the edges of four river basins – the Mississippi River, the Red River of the North, the Souris River and the Rainy River – and covers an area of approximately 139,000 square miles. This area includes most of Minnesota, the western half of Wisconsin, the northeastern half of North Dakota and small portions of northeastern South Dakota and northeastern Iowa. The district also shares approximately 500 miles of border with three Canadian provinces.

Mission
The St. Paul District is responsible for supporting inland navigation by operating 13 locks and dams and by maintaining the 9-foot navigation channel on the Mississippi River. The district helps communities reduce damages caused by flooding by building flood risk management projects and operating 16 reservoirs for flood risk reduction, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat and water supply. It can also assist communities by responding to floods and other natural disasters. It provides engineering services to other federal agencies to include the Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It issues permits for work in wetlands and navigable rivers and is responsible for an environmental restoration program to improve fish and wildlife habitat. In addition, the district maintains 49 recreation areas open to the public.

History
The St. Paul District began its service to the region July 31, 1866. Civil war hero Maj. Gouverneur Kemble Warren opened the first engineer office with three missions: to examine the Mississippi River and its principal tributaries, to determine the best means of bridging the Mississippi between St. Louis, Missouri, and St. Paul, Minnesota, and to devise the best means of establishing a 4-foot channel from St. Louis to the Falls of St. Anthony in Minneapolis. In 1883, the St. Paul District planned and developed the road network in the first national park – Yellowstone. In 1884, it completed America’s first major reservoir system, located in the Mississippi’s Headwaters at Leech, Winnibigoshish and Pokegama lakes. In 1910, it finished America’s first national dam with a hydroelectric plant, Lock and Dam 1 in Minneapolis. And in 1970, the St. Paul District designed the first nonstructural flood risk management project in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. 

Organization
The St. Paul District office headquarters is located in downtown St. Paul in the Lowertown neighborhood. The agency employs around 700 people located in 41 field sites in five states. The St. Paul District is one of six districts that make up the Mississippi Valley Division, which is headquartered in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Contributions
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the world’s premier engineering organization. The Corps provides engineering support to other federal, state and local agencies, as well as more than 90 foreign nations, with a full range of planning, engineering, design/construction management, program management, real estate, research and development and technical assistance services. The work ranges from constructing critical infrastructure, such as wastewater treatment plants, to assisting other nations with damages caused by disasters and war. The agency employs a wide range of engineers and scientists, many of whom are considered experts in their field.