OMAHA, Neb. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, June 12, at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, 2576 8th Street SW in Washburn, North Dakota, to seek input on the draft environmental assessment for a proposed Emergent Sandbar Habitat (ESH) site within the Missouri River between Garrison and Oahe dams in North Dakota.
The meeting will run from 6 to 8 p.m. with a brief opening presentation followed by an open house session. During the open house, the Corps project team will be available at information stations to answer questions and gather public input. The proposed project includes mechanical construction of sandbar habitat, up to approximately 24 acres in size, at river mile 1348 (near Washburn, North Dakota). Material would be borrowed from the river bed and placed on top of the existing shallow submerged sandbar. This minimizes the amount of material that needs to be moved and increases longevity of the constructed sandbar.
The draft EA may be downloaded at http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Planning/Project-Reports/. Comments on the report can be emailed to cenwo-planning@usace.army.mil or mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, CENWO-PMA-C, ATTN: Michelle McPherron, 1616 Capitol Avenue, Omaha, NE 68102-4901. Comments must be postmarked or received by June 20, 2018.
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the ESH Program is to maintain suitable habitat for the federally endangered interior least tern and threatened piping plover. The ESH Program integrates actions in accordance with the sub-objectives established in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2018 Biological Opinion on the Operation of the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System and Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project.
Release no. 18-038