TREMPEALEAU, Wis. — The Army Corps wants to restore the deteriorating ecosystem at Johnson Island on the Mississippi River a couple miles upstream from Trempealeau. It would be a $15.5 million project. But before proceeding the Corps wants public feedback. Deadline for comments: August 28. At issue is shoreline and backwater habitat that has degraded by erosion, sedimentation, and excessive river flow from a side channel. The plan is to restore 66 acres of degraded backwater and floodplain forest habitat. This would include dredging to remove accumulated sediment and constructing a rock sill to reduce river flow and velocity. Construction could begin in 2028, followed by one year for vegetation plantings.
Historical structural revetments. Wing dams were state-of-the-art solutions in the 1890s to maintain the main channel at a navigable depth for steamboats. Nobody thought much about ecological damage in those days. Image: Army Corps