Wild rice harvest
Leech Lake park ranger Gus Garbe inspects some wild rice harvested from Mud Lake, downstream of St. Paul District’s Leech Lake Dam, Sept. 3, 2015. Wild rice, which can be damaged be high or erratic water flows, is ecologically and economically important to the region. District staff performs a balancing act, managing releases through Leech Lake dam to optimize rice habitat, while staying within the parameters outlined by the operation manual for the Leech Lake. Minnesota has more acreage of natural wild rice than any other state and the combined Mud and Goose lakes, which are adjacent to each other on the Leech River, account for the third largest wild rice harvest areas in the state. Leech Lake is the largest wild rice harvest area in the state.

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Photo by: George Stringham |  VIRIN: 150903-A-GX971-041.JPG

Contact Public Affairs

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
Public Affairs Office
332 Minnesota St., Suite E1500
St. Paul, MN 55101

Phone: (651) 290-5807
Fax: (651) 290-5752
cemvp-pa@usace.army.mil