Corps of Engineers habitat construction project begins, caution urged near site

Published April 6, 2016
View from the Wisconsin bluff of Island L1 under construction. Once completed, the new island will help protect an existing island, while the backwater area between the islands will provide new habitat for wildlife.

View from the Wisconsin bluff of Island L1 under construction. Once completed, the new island will help protect an existing island, while the backwater area between the islands will provide new habitat for wildlife.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is asking all Mississippi River boating and fishing enthusiasts to exercise caution in and around Mississippi River Pool 9 this summer.



The Corps of Engineers’ contractor, Newt Marine Service, from Dubuque, Iowa, began the second year of a three year island restoration project by Harpers Slough, near Lynxville, Wisconsin, April 5. The construction activities will be ongoing throughout the summer and include 24-hour operations.



Activities will include using heavy construction equipment and dredging to move material to various locations within the pool for island development. Extreme caution should be used while navigating near the construction site. 



The project is a part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, an environmental restoration program devoted to restoring habitat along the Mississippi River. Established in 1986, the Corps of Engineers has restored more than 45,000 acres, or 62 square miles, of river and floodplain habitat within the St. Paul District. 



The Corps of Engineers asks everyone to practice water safety on the water this summer. For tips and information on being safe while on the water, visit the St. Paul District website at:
http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/WaterSafety.aspx



The nearly 600
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

  

-30-


Contact
Public Affairs

Release no. 16-029