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Archive: February, 2013
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  • February

    Kevin Ewbank, Rock Island District park ranger, looks at an ornament made by students from a local school in Staten Island near Midland Beach before placing it back on the “Tree of Hope,” Dec. 23. Ewbank is part of the Corps’ Critical Incident Stress Management team trained to respond to a crisis and provide support to volunteers, family and friends.

    Corps of Engineers team takes care of its own during Hurricane Sandy recovery

    Months after Hurricane Sandy slammed the greater New York area and caused billions of dollars in damage, Corps of Engineers employees continue supporting the city and state as they recover from the Oct. 29 disaster.
  • Hoses and other necessary equipment were lugged up and down escalators to aide in the unwatering mission.

    District’s reputation for unwatering grows

    As the forecast for Hurricane Sandy started to show potential for a 13-foot storm surge into the New York harbor a call was placed to the Rock Island District to tap into unwatering expertise. "Rock Island has an unwatering reputation," said Roger Less, chief, Design Branch. "Any time there is flooding or a need for pumping, our name seems to come up." Hurricane Sandy made landfall during the evening hours of Monday, Oct. 29 – that morning Rock Island District was already assembling a team of experts at the request of the New York District.

  • Never too early to start planning

    The Corps’ Dam Safety Program takes a risk-informed approach to managing its dams – with public safety being the number one priority. The Rock Island District is taking a proactive approach completing six tabletop exercises in the last four years at Lockport Pool, the Farm Creek Reservoirs, Saylorville Lake, Lake Red Rock, Lock and Dam 19 and Coralville Lake.
  • Stacy Langsdale, public involvement specialist, Institute of Water Resources, facilitates a discussion at the final Indian Creek Pilot Study workshop on how the stakeholder group plans to continue developing and implementing a watershed plan for Indian Creek.

    Iowa-Cedar Integrated Watershed Study

    A historic flood is a great motivator to get people thinking about water. In 2008, areas along the Iowa and Cedar rivers and their tributaries saw unprecedented flooding. This called together many forums of discussion for watershed improvements and changes to mitigate the risk of flooding.
  • The remnants of black walnut trees and other species litter the forest floor following the theft of the walnut sawlogs (a log of suitable size for sawing into lumber).

    Timber theft from Corps property

    A total of 35 mature black walnut trees were stolen from government lands between January and March 2012. Twenty-five of these trees were removed from property managed by Saylorville Lake, totaling $35,000 in timber value. The additional trees were taken from the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Red Rock.