USACE Continues Mississippi River Habitat Project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, continues working on Mississippi River habitat construction near the Harpers Slough backwater area in Allamakee County, Iowa, and Lynxville, Wisconsin.

The nearly $12 million Harper’s Slough restoration project will protect eroded islands and construct new islands where they were once located. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2019 and includes constructing three emergent wetlands and seven islands that will total more than 50 acres while protecting another 46 acres of existing islands.

Once complete, this project will provide habitat, food, and resting places for river wildlife such as migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, turtles, frogs and fish.

The Corps is constructing the islands by using material dredged from the main channel and from within the Harper’s Slough area backwaters. To prevent the new islands from eroding, rock is being placed along sections of the shoreline and vegetation will also be planted.

Because many construction vessels will be used for the project, the Corps and its partners are urging extreme caution in and around the construction area.

The Harper’s Slough Islands Project was planned and designed as a cooperative effort among the Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the states of Iowa and Wisconsin.