WEST ALTON, MO. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District acquired 74-acres of land adjoining the upper portion of Piasa Creek in Madison County, Ill., for wetland restoration and habitat enhancement.
The land was purchased in March from the Great Rivers Land Preservation Association, also known as Great Rivers Land Trust, whose mission is to promote the preservation and improvement of natural resources in the watershed of the Mississippi River. The land will be used to fulfill the remaining 35-acres of wetland mitigation requirements for the Chain of Rocks Canal Levee Underseepage Design Deficiency Project.
The federally-funded Chain of Rocks project aims to correct design deficiencies and assure that the urban design levee will provide protection from a flood to a height of 54 feet on the St. Louis gage. Mitigation is included in many Corps project to ensure there is no let loss of habitat due to construction.
“Construction of the mitigation is underway, with final grading and vegetation plantings to occur this fall,” Hal Graef, Chain of Rocks project manager said.
Once construction and planting is complete the lands will be permanently preserved as habitat with no commercial or residential development allowed. The St. Louis District’s Rivers Project Office in West Alton, Mo., will be responsible for the completion of the restoration, operation and maintenance of the land.
The staff at the Rivers Project Office is responsible for the health of 49,000-acres of land–including wetland, prairie, and forest habitats–and approximately 106,000 acres of water along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. These areas provide critical habitat for ecologically important plant and wildlife species.
“As the project moves forward, we will be able to incorporate some recreation purposes as well,” says Charlie Deutsch, supervisory wildlife biologist at the Corps’ Rivers Project Office. “This area is an ideal place to take a walk on a trail or watch birds and other wildlife, and possibly paddle to and from Piasa Creek.”
The Chain of Rocks levee is located in Madison County, Ill., in the vicinity of Granite City and East St. Louis and is part of the larger Metro East levee system. Combined, these levees protect approximately 288,000 residents and critical infrastructure valued in excess of 4.8 billion.
For more information, visit www.mvs.usace.army.mil/home/metroeastlevees.aspx.