ST. PAUL, Minn. –The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, awarded a $8.7 million contract to Newt Marine Service, out of Dubuque, Iowa, July 14, for a Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program, or NESP, project located on the Wisconsin side of the Upper Mississippi River in Upper Pool 4, near Bay City, Wisconsin.

The project, known as the Navigation Systemic Mitigation Island 4 project, aims to address general degradation of habitat quality due to sediment deposition, wind-driven wave action, declining changes in river bottom elevation and a decline in aquatic vegetation.

Key project features include constructing a peninsula to improve habitat conditions by redirecting sediment and dredging in the winter to provide a deep-water habitat for fish. Willows, floodplain forest trees, and grasses will be planted on the islands to increase habitat diversity and quality.

Construction is estimated to start in the spring of 2024 and be completed by fall of 2026.

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. The primary goals of the program are to increase the capacity and improve the reliability of the inland navigation system while restoring, protecting, and enhancing the environment.

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