Contacts

Pam Thiel, USFWS, 608-783-8434

Henry Drewes, MN DNR, 218-755-3959

Public Input Sought on Draft Environmental Assessment for Fish Passage in the Red River of the North Basin

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, invites the public to review and comment on a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for Fish Passage in the Red River of the North Basin.

The draft EA evaluates the re-establishment of fish passage at 13 existing barrier areas on the Red River and its Minnesota tributaries that will reconnect extensive reaches of the Red River and its tributary systems.

The EA evaluates several alternatives, including the proposed alternative, which is to modify or remove existing barriers at 13 high priority barriers to fish passage and maintain the stability of the reach of stream channel. Under this alternative, some barriers would be left in place while fish passage was still provided through creation of rock riffles.

Although the draft EA evaluates 13 sites, only the Heiberg Dam is slated for construction of a fish passage project this summer. Partners on this project are the Fish and Wildlife Service, Wild Rice Watershed District, Minnesota DNR, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the White Earth Band of Chippewa. Planning for other barrier sites would be completed as funds and opportunities become available.

Removing fish barriers and restoring unimpeded flow would improve the quality of water and habitat for fish and other aquatic species, and will complement on-going resource conservation efforts in the Red River watershed.

The two other alternatives considered in the draft EA are the "No Action" alternative, which would leave the existing barriers in place in their present condition, and an alternative that would completely remove barriers at all locations through demolition and debris removal.

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program addresses structures built on rivers and their effects on fish and other aquatic species. Service employees work with local communities and partner agencies to restore natural flows and fish migration by removing or bypassing barriers. Fish passage is important to allow fish access to spawning, nursery, and rearing habitat.
Partnerships with federal, state and local governments and conservation groups are important to conducting on-the-ground habitat protection, enhancement and restoration projects. Projects allow fish passage for lake sturgeon, brook trout and other aquatic species.

Nationwide, since its inception in 1999, the Fish Passage Program has supported 76 fish passage projects with more than 141 different partners, restored access to more than 3,443 miles of river habitat and 65,088 acres of wetlands for fish spawning and growth, and leveraged partner contributions totaling $6.2 million.

In the Fish and Wildlife Service’s eight-state Midwest Region, the Fish Passage Program has completed more than 30 fish passage projects which have provided uninhibited fish access to more than 200 miles of river and 900 acres of wetland habitat. Partners have provided nearly $700,000 toward these projects to leverage the Service’s investment of nearly $400,000.
The draft EA is available on the Service's Regional Internet site at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/NEPA.

Copies of the draft EA are available for review at the following U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices:

Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District,
26624 North Tower Rd., Detroit Lakes, MN (218-847-4431)

Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge (NWR),
21212 210th Street, Audubon, MN 56511 (218-439-6319)

Rydell NWR,
17788 349th Street, Erskine, MN 56535 (218-687-2229)

Tamarac NWR,
35704 County Road 26, Rochert, MN 56578 (218-847-2641)

The draft EA is available at these Minnesota DNR Area Fisheries Offices:

204 Main Street East, Baudette, MN 56623 (218-634-2522)

2114 Bemidji Avenue, Bemidji, MN 56601 (218-755-2974)

1458 Co. Hwy. 19, Detroit Lakes, MN 56501 (218-847-1579)

1509 1st Avenue North, Fergus Falls, MN 56537 (218-739-7576)

The draft EA is also available at the White Earth DNR, 41044 South Ice Cracking Road, Ponsford, MN 56575 (218-573-3007).

Copies of the draft EA are available for review at the following public libraries:

205 East Hampden Avenue, Fergus Falls, MN 56537 (218-739-9387)

102 3 Street North, Fargo, ND 58102 (701-241-1491).

Copies of the draft EA are available for review at the following city offices:

City of Argyle Offices,
701 Pacific Avenue, Argyle, MN 56713 (218-437-6621)

City of Breckenridge Offices,
420 Nebraska Avenue, Breckenridge, MN 56520 (218-643-1431)

Crookston City Hall,
124 North Broadway, Crookston, MN 56716 (218-281-1232)

City of Drayton,
122 S. Main St., Drayton, ND 58225 (701-454-3590)

City of Stephen Offices,
424 5th Street, Stephen, MN 56757 (218-478-3614)

Copies are also available for review at the Sandhill Watershed District, 219 North Mill Street, Fertile, MN 56540 (218-945-3204) and Wildrice Watershed District, 11 East 5th Avenue, Ada, MN 56510 (218-784-4085).

Comments on the draft EA are welcome and should be submitted in writing. Written comments should be sent to Pam Thiel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 555 Lester Avenue, Onalaska, WI 54601; via email to pam_thiel@fws.gov; or via fax to 608-783-8450. Comments should be received not later than July 19, 2005.

The draft EA was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which applies to the actions of all federal agencies. The proposed project is also being reviewed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The areas of potential effect for this undertaking are the thirteen barriers proposed for modification or removal as described in the EA and the surrounding area. Most of the barriers have no cultural resources that are known to be located on any of these properties although some are still under investigation. The public is requested to inform the Service at the above address about archeological sites, buildings and structures, historic places, cemeteries, and traditional uses of the area that could influence decisions about the project.

Three dams proposed for removal are located on the main stem of the Red River of the North in Minnesota and North Dakota: Drayton Dam in Kittson County, MN, and Pembina County, ND; and the Chrisitine and Hickson dams, on the border of Clay County, MN, and Cass County, ND.
There are ten other barriers locations in Minnesota: The Argyle and Stephen dams in Marshall County; the old Otter Tail Power dam and several Sand Hill River barriers in Polk County; Heiberg Dam in Norman County; road culvert barriers on Marsh Creek in Norman County; the South Branch Dams of the Buffalo River in Clay County; the Elizabeth and Phelps Mill dams in Otter Tail County; and the Lake Breckenridge dam in Wilkin County.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

-FWS-

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