The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, celebrated the completion of the Pool 2 Wing Dam Modification Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 25, at Lock and Dam 2 in Hastings, 1350 Lock and Dam Road.

The $324,000 Pool 2 wing dam modification project is the first ecosystem project in the nation to be 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

The project was completed by Togiak Management Service of Anchorage.

The Pool 2 Wing Dam Modification project area was in the middle and lower half of Pool 2 of the Upper Mississippi River south of St. Paul and spans Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties in Minnesota. 

It included notching 17 wing dams. A wing dam is a rock structure that diverts the water to the center of the river channel. Portions of the wing dam will be taken out of the rock structure encourage depth and flow diversity for river habitat for fish.