St. Paul District builds a win-win island project in Upper Pool 4

A $30 million investment in the local community will build four islands, create an aquatic overwintering habitat, provide access to dredging, stabilize shorelines, support overall fish and wildlife habitat and promote recreation among river users. The Upper Pool 4 Pierce County Islands project is located near Bay City, Wisconsin, on the Upper Mississippi River.

“The granular base is complete, and we started some habitat dredging in the backwaters, we should be wrapping up fines and rock placement in the next year,” said John Henderson, project manager.

The St. Paul District will move dredged material via a barge from Pool 4 Read’s Landing to the Bay City area and the river sand will be used as the foundation of the islands. “We will also dredge 15 acres of backwater fisheries habitat,” Henderson said. “This will provide overwintering shelter for fish from cold water flows while maximizing depth for oxygen.”

The fine material removed from the backwaters will serve as topsoil for the vegetative species on the top of the islands. Those species will include herbaceous floodplain forest species like silver maples, cottonwood, hickory and swamp white oak.

“This project will benefit various bird species; this is one of the key areas of the Mississippi River flyway which birds use for migrating north to south as conditions start to freeze,” Henderson said. Through this project, the St. Paul District will also create emergent wetlands for dabbling duck and other amphibious species.

Three of the islands are funded under a pilot program for the beneficial use of dredged material. This island-building project was one of 10 pilot projects selected and one of a few to go to construction. The fourth island is funded under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program. NESP is a long-term, dual-purpose program that integrates navigation improvements and ecosystem restoration together to provide positive impacts to the Upper Mississippi River system.

A project that is built on years of trust and partnership.

“Our partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, who is the non-federal sponsor, is vital to this important infrastructure project,” Henderson said. “We have great agency relationships up and down the river.”

“This project is really a win-win situation,” Henderson said. “We are ensuring navigation continues on the Mississippi River, while using the river sand that’s dredged to accomplish habitat creation for different species and increase recreation opportunities for locals.”

In total, the project will beneficially use a half million cubic yards of river sand that is dredged from the navigation channel. In 2025, the St. Paul District dredged over one million cubic yards of river sand to maintain the 9-foot navigation channel — a vital economic freeway. More than 10 million tons of commodities pass through Lock and Dam 10, in Guttenberg, Iowa, every year, and 25% of all waterborne commerce in the U.S. depends on the Mississippi River.

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