OMAHA, NE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract to Commercial Contractors Equipment, Inc., of Lincoln, Neb. for $1,747,090 to construct shallow water habitat at Middle Decatur Bend in Burt County, Neb. The project will be constructed on land owned by the Corps, and will result in the creation of 11 acres of shallow water habitat that is intended to benefit the federally endangered pallid sturgeon and other native fish and wildlife species.
Work will include excavating a portion of the river bank to widen the top width of the river channel to create a shallow, lower velocity bench adjacent to the main channel. Limited clearing and grubbing work is likely to take place after July 31st to avoid potential impacts to nesting migratory birds. The remaining work (grading of slopes, dredging, and placing rock with integrated large woody debris) will take place throughout the fall and winter of 2015, with completion anticipated in late winter of 2015. After initial construction is completed and the river bank has had time to self-adjust through natural river processes, a total of 14 acres of shallow water habitat is anticipated to result from this project.
The project is being constructed as part of the Corps’ Missouri River Recovery Program, which helps to fulfill the requirements of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2003 Amended Biological Opinion for the Operation of the Missouri River Main Stem Reservoir System, Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, and Operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System.
Release no. 20150622-001