$40M project rebuilds vanishing Mississippi islands near Iowa
A $40 million project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is using dredged river material to restore vanishing islands and wetlands along the Mississippi River in Iowa. The initiative aims to combat erosion and protect critical aquatic habitats for fish and wildlife.
Why it matters
It highlights the importance of civil engineering in mitigating the environmental impact of river navigation and climate-driven erosion on vital ecosystems.
Islands and backwaters along the Mississippi River near Guttenberg, Iowa, have been gradually disappearing as erosion, flooding, wind and waves wear away their shorelines. Now, a major habitat restoration effort is rebuilding some of those lost features. The Lower Pool 10 Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project, part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, is using dredged river material to create and reinforce islands while improving nearby aquatic habitat. According to the Corps’ project, the plan is designed to protect and restore about 630 acres of riverine, backwater and floodplain habitat.Why the Mississippi River islands are disappearingThe restoration is taking place in Lower Pool 10, on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River navigation channel, about a mile upstream from Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg.
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