St. Paul District completes Pool 2 wing dam modification project

Credit: Melanie Peterson | Date Taken: 07/13/2023
Mitchell Knegendorf, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District contracting officer representative, discusses the completion of the Pool 2 wing dam modification project. The $324,000 Pool 2 wing dam modification project is the first ecosystem project in the nation to awarded under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program, or NESP, and the first NESP project in the nation to be completed. The wing dam notching modified the channel to provide suitable habitat for fish. Potential fish species that will benefit include channel catfish, white or yellow bass, walleye, and paddlefish. NESP is a long-term program of navigation improvements and ecosystem restoration for the Upper Mississippi River System. The primary goals of NESP are to increase the capacity and improve the reliability of the inland navigation system while restoring, protecting, and enhancing the environment through implementation of an integrated, dual-purpose plan to ensure the economic and environmental sustainability of the Upper Mississippi River System.