The US Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District has completed its $25 million McGregor Lake habitat rehabilitation and enhancement project, concluding major works on the 200-acre (80.9-hectare) backwater lake located in Pool 10 of the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Situated within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, the lake area forms part of a river corridor whose forests provide habitat for migrating songbirds, nesting bald eagles, herons, kingfishers and other birds.
According to USACE, the initiative was designed to bolster backwater fish habitat, foster emergent and submergent vegetation growth, broaden the age and species diversity of self-sustaining floodplain forests, and curb erosion to safeguard aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Construction on the restoration began in 2020, utilising 500,000 cubic yards (382,277 cubic metres) of clean river sand dredged from the Mississippi River navigation channel to build seven islands.
Dredging also cleared 35 acres (14.2 hectares) of backwater fisheries to create overwintering areas for fish, with the excavated material placed atop the new landforms to support vegetative growth.
Alongside island formation, engineering teams installed five rock features and stabilised more than one mile (1.6 kilometres) of shoreline.
In total, the project improved over 270 acres (109.3 hectares) of aquatic habitat, enhanced more than 45 acres (18.2 hectares) of floodplain forest, and protected 22 acres (8.9 hectares) of wetlands.
