Over the last year and a half, the Corp of Engineers have been working on a $650,000 "feasability" study to place a fish passageway through Lock and Dam #3 near Red Wing, MN. According to the Corps website a goal was to have one in place by 2025 at the Hasting Lock and Dam also.

Until just recently the cost along with other information was listed on the Corps website. As of this morning my links to those web pages listed them as "unavailable".

The cost to build this passageway was felt to be prohibitive on the WI side of the river. $22. million according to the Corps website.

End of story right?

According to the latest stakeholders email, alternative areas are being concidered. While the Corps, The Natures Conservansy and the WI DNR push for building this fish "super highway", MN is going into high gear to put up road blocks.

I think we all agree that we can not stop them, but do we have to keep tossing money into the river to help them along? After all, we don't hear complaining about the fishing on our 80 miles of the Mississippi.


Subject: LD 3 Fish Passage Definite Project Report Status (UNCLASSIFIED) Sent: Friday, July 15, 2011 2:48 PM Classification: UNCLASSIFIED Caveats: NONE LD 3 Fish Passage Stakeholders, I apologize for the lack of communication of where we are with the above project. We have been looking at alternative fish way channels that are less expensive that the current channel thru the Wisconsin embankments. 1. As you know the current Preliminary Draft Report showed an increase in Project Cost for just the fish way channel which is now in excess of $19M. Most of the cost is associated with imported cofferdam fill/removal and the channel borrow removal as well. 2. The in-house team has been looking at two other possible less expensive fish way channel locations on the lock side thru the island. One uses the Auxiliary lock chamber (as suggested by Value Engineering team) and a second channel alternative is located between the auxiliary lock and the dam. Cost estimates are being generated to see if these two alternative channels are less expensive than the Wisconsin embankment channel to construct and still meet the original goals and objectives. 3. Costs should be complete in about two weeks. Tom Novak Tel: 651.290.5524 Cell: 612.201.6390 Fax: 651.290.5258 eMail: tom.novak@usace.army.mil Briank@in-DepthOutdoors.com