• $132 Million Contract Kicks Off Army Corps Flood-Risk-Reduction Project on Staten Island

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, in conjunction with the New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) and State of New York (NYSDEC), announces a $132 million contract award for the construction of large interior drainage ponds and associated stormwater infrastructure for the South Shore of Staten Island (SSSI) Project, specifically within South Beach, Staten Island.
  • Corps of Engineers hosts open house at Lock and Dam 4

    ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will host an open house at Lock and Dam 4, on the Mississippi River, in Alma, Wisconsin, on July 27.
  • Large Turnout For Industry Day: Small Businesses Learn About Army Corps Procurements

    The New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently held Industry Day in New York City where more than 150 professionals from small businesses around the region gathered for a full afternoon learning more about how to do business with the Army Corps of Engineers ─ it was the largest turnout for this event in recent memory.
  • A blast from the past: Pittsburgh District completes first demolition on historic Monongahela River dam

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District successfully breached the fixed-crest dam at the Monongahela River Locks and Dam 3 using controlled explosives near Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, July 10, 2024.
  • Honolulu District welcomes 74th commander

    Lt. Col. Adrian Biggerstaff became the 74th commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District, during a change of command ceremony July 10, at the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 
  • USACE sets timeline for Lucky Peak Lake drawdown

    BOISE, Idaho – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District will begin drawing down the water levels of Lucky Peak Lake during the fourth week of July in preparation of the Turner Gulch boat ramp rehabilitation project.
  • Seasonal Variation in Near-Surface Seasonally Thawed Active Layer and Permafrost Soil Microbial Communities

    Abstract: Understanding how soil microbes respond to permafrost thaw is critical to predicting the implications of climate change for soil processes. However, our knowledge of microbial responses to warming is mainly based on laboratory thaw experiments, and field sampling in warmer months when sites are more accessible. In this study, we sampled a depth profile through seasonally thawed active layer and permafrost in the Imnavait Creek Watershed, Alaska, USA over the growing season from summer to late fall. Amplicon sequencing showed that bacterial and fungal communities differed in composition across both sampling depths and sampling months. Surface communities were most variable while those from the deepest samples, which remained frozen throughout our sampling period, showed little to no variation over time. However, community variation was not explained by trace metal concentrations, soil nutrient content, pH, or soil condition (frozen/thawed), except insofar as those measurements were correlated with depth. Our results highlight the importance of collecting samples at multiple times throughout the year to capture temporal variation, and suggest that data from across the annual freeze-thaw cycle might help predict microbial responses to permafrost thaw.
  • Historic Landscape Inventory for Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky

    Abstract: This project was undertaken to provide the US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration, with a cultural landscape inventory of Zachary Taylor National Cemetery via funding from the St Louis Mandatory Center of Expertise (MCX) for the Curation and Management of Archaeological Collections (CMAC). The 16-acre cemetery, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, is found in Louisville, Kentucky, and contains more than 11,400 burials. The US Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) was tasked with inventorying and assessing the cultural landscape at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery through the creation of a landscape development context, a description of current conditions, and an analysis of changes to the cultural landscape over time. All landscape features were included in the survey as federal policy on national cemeteries requires that all national cemetery landscape features be considered contributing elements, regardless of age. The historic landscape elements of the cemetery, like the original overarching Beaux-Arts plan and circulation, cannot be restored due to the current number of burials. However, some elements can be reemphasized by historic landscape management planning, such as the restoration of the portions of the allée of pin oak (Quercus palustris) trees.
  • Additional boat ramp to close at Saylorville Lake

    Due to rising water levels at Saylorville Lake, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District will be closing the Cherry Glen High Water Boat Ramp at 10 p.m. today. Ongoing closures remain in place at Cherry Glen Lower Boat Ramp, the lower parking lot at Lakeview High Water Boat Ramp, Oak Grove Beach Access, Sandpiper Boat Ramp, NW Jester Park Drive, and Lakeview Main Boat Ramp. These closures will remain in effect until lake levels recede, and the areas can be cleaned and safely reopened.
  • Historic Landscape Inventory for Mare Island Naval Cemetery, California

    Abstract: This project was undertaken to provide the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), National Cemetery Administration (NCA), with a cultural land-scape inventory of Mare Island Naval Cemetery. The approximately 2.5-acre cemetery is located in Vallejo, California, and contains more than 900 burials. Mare Island Naval Cemetery is part of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard historic district, which was listed concurrently on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The NCA tasked the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) with inventorying and assessing the cultural landscape at Mare Island Naval Cemetery through the creation of a landscape development context, a description of current conditions, and an analysis of changes to the cultural landscape over time. All landscape features were included in the inventory as NCA requested ERDC-CERL to follow federal policy on national cemeteries that requires that all national cemetery landscape features be considered contributing elements, regardless of age.