State Partnership Program

Video by Melanie Peterson

Construction progresses at McGregor Lake Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District

Oct. 19, 2023 | 2:11

John Henderson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District project manager, talks about the ongoing construction at McGregor Lake Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program.

The completed project will restore eroding peninsulas around McGregor Lake, deepen backwater habitat for overwintering fish and enhance floodplain forest habitat. The forests in the Mississippi River corridor provide critical habitat for migrating songbirds, nesting bald eagles, herons, kingfishers and other birds.

The project is planned in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources and the local communities.

This project is funded under the authority of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. The 30-year 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. The rehabilitation program has fostered more than 55 habitat projects benefiting approximately 100,000 acres on the Upper Mississippi River, from Minneapolis to St. Louis, Missouri.