The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District’s representatives met with partners from Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region yesterday for a site visit of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project (HREP) at Beaver Island in Clinton County, Iowa.
The site visit allowed the partners to see the ongoing progress as well as active dredging of the backwater areas.
This project includes erosion control, enclosure structures and backwater excavation to restore and protect off-channel aquatic, wetland and floodplain forest habitats.
The work area is comprised of 1,678 acres of interconnected backwaters, secondary channels, wetlands, and floodplain habitat.
The $10 million habitat restoration project is funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Upper Mississippi River Restoration program.
This program addresses ecological needs on the Upper Mississippi River System to improve its environmental health. The program began in 1986 and has funded 56 habitat restoration projects benefiting approximately 106,000 acres.