Location

Pool 10, Upper Mississippi River, Miles 615 - 619, Clayton County, Iowa and Grant County, Wisconsin, Congressional District: IA - 1, WI - 3

Partners

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Iowa Department of Natural Resource and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources 

Description

The site is a side channel/island complex located on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River navigation channel in Pool 10, about 1 mile upstream from Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg, Iowa. The site lies within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Many of the natural islands bordering the navigation channel and extending into the backwater have eroded and are disappearing. Erosion from wave action and main channel flows is reducing the size of the wetland complex, resulting in the loss of aquatic vegetation and the shallow protected habitats important for the survival of many species of fish and wildlife.

The proposed project goals include protecting and restoring island complexes in this 1,000 acre area that would restore and enhance quality habitat for native and desirable species by reducing suspended solid concentrations and reducing wind fetch.