For years, sand dredged from the Mississippi River was removed to keep one of America's most important waterways navigable.
asserted
sand → dredge → waterways
At one restoration site, engineers found another use for that material, building islands.
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engineers → find → material
The US Army Corps of Engineers has completed a $25 million habitat restoration project at McGregor Lake in Wisconsin, where about 500,000 cubic yards of clean sand dredged from the Mississippi River were used to construct seven islands.
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yards → complete → islands
The project, which began in 2020, has now improved more than 270 acres of aquatic habitat while also restoring floodplain forest and protecting wetlands.
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which → begin → wetlands
McGregor Lake is a 200-acre backwater lake located in Pool 10 of the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
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Lake → locate → Chien
It lies within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, an area that supports a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.
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that → lie → wildlife
The completed project was marked by the US Army Corps of Engineers' St Paul District on September 22, following six years of restoration work.
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project → complete → work
Sand dredged from the river becomes new habitat
The project brought together two needs that might otherwise have been treated separately: maintaining the Mississippi River's navigation channel and restoring habitat in one of its backwater lakes.
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that → dredge → lakes
Dredging is routinely carried out in the river to maintain navigation.
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Dredging → carry → navigation
At McGregor Lake, engineers reused approximately 500,000 cubic yards of clean river sand generated through that process to create seven islands.
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engineers → reuse → islands
The islands were not simply piles of dredged material.
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islands → dredge → material
They were designed as part of a larger habitat restoration effort, with material from additional dredging placed on top to provide suitable ground for vegetation.
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They → design → vegetation
Engineers also dredged 35 acres of backwater fisheries habitat.
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Engineers → dredge → habitat
The deeper areas created through this work provide overwintering habitat for fish, while the dredged material was reused on the islands.
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material → create → islands
The result was a project in which material removed to maintain the river's navigation channel was redirected into a new landscape intended to support wildlife.
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material → remove → wildlife
Seven islands, rock structures and shoreline work
The seven newly constructed islands are one of several components of the restoration.
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islands → construct → restoration
The Corps also built five rock features and stabilised more than one mile of shoreline.
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Corps → build → shoreline
These measures were designed to reduce erosion and protect aquatic and terrestrial habitat around the lake.
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measures → design → lake
According to the Corps, the overall project improved more than 270 acres of aquatic habitat, enhanced more than 45 acres of floodplain forest and protected 22 acres of wetlands.
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project → accord → wetlands
The work was particularly focused on improving conditions for backwater fish species and encouraging the growth of both emergent and submerged aquatic vegetation.
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work → focus → vegetation
McGregor Lake's location within the Mississippi River floodplain makes these habitats important beyond the lake itself.
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habitats → make → lake
The surrounding river corridor supports migrating songbirds as well as nesting bald eagles, herons, kingfishers and other bird species.
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corridor → surround → songbirds
Why McGregor Lake needed intervention
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Lake → need → intervention
They provide comparatively sheltered environments where fish can feed, reproduce and survive seasonal conditions.
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fish → provide → conditions
Over time, however, erosion and changes in the lake's habitat can reduce the quality and variety of these environments.
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erosion → reduce → environments
The restoration project was designed to address several of those problems at once.
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project → design → problems
Increasing aquatic vegetation provides additional cover and habitat for fish and other wildlife, while the new islands and floodplain forest areas create additional terrestrial habitat.
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islands → increase → habitat
Shoreline stabilisation is also intended to limit erosion that can otherwise degrade habitat and alter the shape and depth of backwater areas.
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that → intend → areas
The Corps said the project was designed to increase the age and species diversity of self-sustaining floodplain forests while protecting aquatic and terrestrial habitat by reducing erosion.
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project → say → erosion
A six-year restoration project
Construction began in 2020 and continued through 2026, with the project now reaching completion after six years.
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project → begin → years
The work was carried out as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration programme, a federal initiative focused on improving habitat and monitoring resources along the river.
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work → carry → river
The programme has been operating for four decades and has completed more than 62 habitat projects benefiting approximately 120,000 acres between Minneapolis and St Louis, according to the Corps.
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programme → operate → Corps
McGregor Lake is therefore part of a much larger effort to balance the Mississippi River's role as a major transportation route with the ecological needs of its surrounding wetlands, backwaters and forests.
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Lake → balance → wetlands
The Aporia
