Monkey Chute Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project

Rock Island District

Pool 21, Upper Mississippi River, Mile 326, Marion County, Missouri, Congressional District: Missouri - 6

Partners

• MODNR

Description

The upstream end of Monkey Chute was cut off many years ago by the accumulation and deposition of sediment coming off the main channel of the Mississippi River. Sedimentation at the downstream end of the chute, near its mouth with the Mississippi River, was also becoming acute in the 1980’s. In severe cases, when Pool 21 was below normal pool levels, the sedimentation prevented access into the chute, stranding fish and causing stagnation by isolating the chute from the river. Continued sedimentation would have resulted in the conversion of the open backwater habitat into a marsh and then lowland brush habitat.

Quick Facts

• Approximate Acres: 88 (Source: Definitive Project Report)
• Congressional District: Missouri - 6
• State(s) Covered: Missouri
• Land Ownership: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Management Agency: Missouri Department of Natural Resources
• Management Authority: Cooperative Agreement 

Features

• Hydraulically dredged a cut approximately 6 feet deep by 30 feet wide by 600 feet long at the downstream end of Monkey Chute. 
• Removed about 3,000 cubic yards of material and pump into a sand/mud area immediately adjacent to the dredge cut. Constructed a silt-retaining fence to screen silt from the water column. 

Milestones

• The Definite Project Report was completed in 1987.
• Project construction was completed in August 1989.
• The Initial Performance Evaluation Report was completed in March 1995.  Supplemental performance evaluation reports were completed and distributed in April 1998 and June 2001.