|
Boat tours of Pool 8 restoration project offer to the public August 25
|
|
|
Public boat tours of the island restoration project currently being constructed on the Upper Miss Refuge in lower Pool 8 are being offered again. These tours are scheduled for Tuesday evening, Aug. 25.
Tours will depart from Wildcat Park at 4:30, 5:45, and 7 p.m. and return to the park about 75 minutes later. Wildcat Park is located about 1⁄2-mile south of Brownsville.
The tours are free, but registration is required. To register, email Ms. Kathy Mock at the following address: <mailto:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
> and provide the following information: your name, phone number, preferred departure time(s), and the number of people in your party. You can also call 608/783-8405 and provide the same information. Boat space is available to accommodate about 300 people through the evening tours.
Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Mississippi River Wild will conduct the tours and explain details of the project.
Tour participants will ride in pontoon boats, flat-bottom boats, and a cruise boat from Mississippi Explorer Cruises.
More than 300 people participated in last year’s boat tours of the project.
Twenty-two islands, three breakwaters, and an offshore rock mound will be constructed through this habitat restoration project, officially known as the “Pool 8 Islands, Phase III Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Project.” Construction began in 2006 and is tentatively scheduled for completion in 2012.
To-date, seven islands, the three breakwaters, and the off-shore rock mound have been completed with six additional islands currently in various stages of completion.
The purpose of the project is to restore fish and wildlife habitat in the lower reach of Navigation Pool 8.
Funding is being provided through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Environmental Management Program (EMP). Project planning and design have been a cooperative effort between the St. Paul District Corps of Engineers; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; the Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources; the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the public.
For more information, contact the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge office in Onalaska, Wisc. The office is located at 555 Lester Avenue and office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number is (608) 783-8405.
|
