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McGregor Lake Project to begin

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This aerial view shows the main channel, McGregor Lake, and the east channel of the Mississippi River in Pool 10. (Wisconsin DNR photo)

By Ted Pennekamp

 

After 10 years of public meetings and much planning by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the highly-anticipated and much-needed McGregor Lake Project is finally a go.

The Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, has started the first phase of the McGregor Lake Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project to restore habitat within Pool 10 of the Upper Mississippi River.

For the past several years, there has been limited funding for various habitat rehabilitation projects in Pools 9 and 10, and other projects, such as the Capoli Slough Project, took precedent.

The McGregor Lake project, located near Prairie du Chien, will restore and protect island habitat, protect shoreline from erosion and create overwintering fish habitat. The goal of the project is to provide habitat and food and resting places for river wildlife, such as migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, turtles, frogs and fish. The total project is anticipated to cost approximately $20 million.

The first phase will consist of transferring 70,000 cubic yards of dredged sand from the nearby McMillan Island dredged material site to McGregor Lake. This phase is anticipated to take two to three months to complete, while the total project may take up to five years to construct.

Boaters are cautioned to be aware of construction vessels in the McGregor Lake area during this time and observe navigation signs.

The McGregor Lake project was planned and designed as part of a cooperative effort between the Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, and local interests.

The project, which is part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, consists of the improvement and/or creation of more than 380 acres of floodplain forest and aquatic habitat throughout the approximately 1,063-acre project area. 

Megan McGuire, a biologist with the Corps of Engineers, has said the total project area includes McGregor Lake and the associated island, channel and backwater complex between the main channel and the east channel of the Mississippi River.

The Corps looked at this area and tried to predict what it would look like in 50 years if they did nothing versus if they conducted the project, said McGuire.

There is not much diversity in the area now and it is dominated by silver maples, with a few oak trees. If nothing was done, McGregor Lake, also known as Horseshoe Lake, would continue to widen and deteriorate, and eventually would become part of the river, which would not be a good overwintering site for fish and wildlife. It would also continue to fill in with sediment.

Overall objectives are to increase the quantity and improve the health of the floodplain hardwood forest, maintain or increase the amount and quality of winter and summer aquatic habitat in McGregor Lake and some other adjacent areas, increase emergent and submergent aquatic vegetation, and reduce the loss of habitat through erosion. 

The project calls for building land and islands by using sand and silt, a big portion of which would be on the north side of McGregor Lake, just south of the Highway 18 Bridge. This area would be about two feet higher than the surrounding area. The base would be sand and the top more silty, and the area would eventually become a floodplain forest. The vast majority of the existing floodplain forest associated with McGregor Lake would be left alone. In addition, the land around the lake, especially on the east channel side, would be made thicker so there could be more trees.

The project will involve more than 70 acres of dredging, with 35-40 acres in McGregor Lake. Also, 45 acres of new forest will be created. There will be rock erosion protection in some areas. A rock spillway will be created on the north end of the east side of McGregor Lake.

Monitoring for the project began in 2019. Plans and specifications were developed in the spring and summer of 2019.

Public meetings regarding the McGregor Lake Project were first held in area communities in 2010. Attendees at several meeting over the years have expressed that this project is long overdue and much needed.

This project is funded under authority of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Environmental Management Program. The program is intended to ensure the coordinated development and enhancement of the Upper Mississippi River system with primary emphasis on habitat restoration projects and resource monitoring. In the more than 30-year history of the program, nearly 60 habitat projects benefiting approximately 100,000 acres on the Upper Mississippi River, from Minneapolis to St. Louis, have been completed.

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