Location
Pool 12, Upper Mississippi River Mile 563.0 - 573.0, Jo Daviess County, Illinois.
Description
The Pool 12 Overwintering Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project, part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program, is in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, upstream of Bellevue, Iowa. The project lies generally between the Mississippi River's main channel and the railroad tracks that parallel the river's east bank. The project lands are federally owned.
The Project area is comprised primarily of a series of islands, backwater channels, and backwater lakes that are part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
The goals of the project are to restore and protect off-channel aquatic habitat and restore floodplain forest habitat. The objectives identified to meet these goals are (1) Increase the amount of deep water habitat in the backwater lakes complex of Pool 1,2 as measured by acres, to provide pool-wide overwintering fish habitat; (2) Increase depth diversity in backwater lakes complex of Pool 12, as measured by acres, to provide year-round fish habitat; (3) Increase sustainability of aquatic habitat in the backwater lakes complex of Pool 12, as measured by acres, by decreasing the sedimentation in the complex; and (4) Increase areal coverage in acres of forest stands with hard mast-producing trees as a dominant or component species in floodplain forest areas surrounding the backwater lakes of Pool 12.
Project Features:
- Excavate channels in backwater areas
- Construct land and aquatic deflections berms
- Plant hard mast trees on land berms
- Construct rock closure structures
The Recommend Plan will restore backwater habitat at four lakes (Sunfish Lake, Stone Lake, Kehough Slough, and Tippy Lake) by excavating approximately 63 acres of deep backwater channels to a depth of 8 feet below flat pool providing overwintering and year-around habitat for fish in the surrounding 6,942 acres. The recommend plan will also establish mast-producing tree on approximately 40 acres of land berms.
Background
Following lock and dam construction, river sediments have continued to accumulate in backwater areas of Pool 12. This sedimentation has reduced the depth and area of historic backwater sites used by fisheries resources for various life-stage needs. Including overwinter survival. It also has blocked entrances to backwater fishery overwintering areas, which reduces the overall value of otherwise useable fish habitat. Presently, overwintering habitat for fish and backwater habitat for both waterfowl and fish are very limited in Pool 12. Sedimentation of backwater lakes and sloughs has reduced the value of historic overwintering areas. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has documented that the overwintering habitat in Pool 12 has become a limiting factor for survival of riverine fish.
Status
The construction contract for Stage I (Sunfish Lake) was awarded in August 2013 and completed in May 2016. The construction contract for Stage II (Stone and Tippy Lakes) was awarded in July 2015 and completed in May 2021. Stage III (Kehough Slough) was awarded in August 2016 and completed in November 2020. Stage IV tree plantings contract was completed in November 2020 for Stage II and Stage III areas. The operation and maintenance manual was completed in April 2023.
Additional Information
Authority
Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) of 1986 under Section 1103 (33 U.S.C 2201 et seq.; P.L. 99-662, 1986)
CG - Construction General
Summarized Project Costs
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Estimated Federal Cost
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$20,870,822
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Estimated Non-Federal Cost
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$0
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Estimated Total Project Cost
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$20,870,822
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Allocations Prior to FY 2024
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$16,203,180
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FY 2024 Allocation
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$0
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FY 2025 President’s Budget
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$0
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FY 2025 Total Capability
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$0
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Major Work Item Current Year
FY 2024: The Project moved forward with completion of the operations and maintenance manual.
Major Work Item Next Fiscal Year
FY 2025: The project will continue monitoring measures, and active adaptive management principals will be applied.