• Pomme de Terre Lake Open House and comment opportunities for Shoreline Management Plan

    Hermitage, Mo. – An updated Shoreline Management Plan for Pomme de Terre Lake is now available for review and public comments soon. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host an Open House to share information and receive public comments on Aug. 24.
  • Heat wave fuels needless drownings, boating deaths in Oregon

    Drownings and boating-related deaths needlessly continue claiming lives in Oregon, recently fueled by a heat wave. The Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) reported 19 boating-related fatalities in 2021 and the Oregon Health Authority recorded 57 drownings in natural waters in 2020, which is 160% increase from 2019 (35 drownings). Life jackets may have prevented many of these deaths.
  • Engineering With Nature® Principles in Action: Islands

    Abstract: The Engineering With Nature® (EWN) Program supports nature-based solutions that reduce coastal-storm and flood risks while providing environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Combining the beneficial use of dredged sediments with the restoration or creation of islands increases habitat and recreation, keeps sediment in the system, and reduces coastal-storm and flood impacts. Given the potential advantages of islands, EWN seeks to support science-based investigations of island performance, impacts, and benefits through collaborative multidisciplinary efforts. Using a series of case studies led by US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) districts and others, this technical report highlights the role of islands in providing coastal resilience benefits in terms of reducing waves and erosion as well as other environmental and socioeconomic benefits to the communities and the ecosystems they reside in.
  • Mechanic team keeps navigation moving on Allegheny River, replaces hydraulics system in-house

    A small team of mechanics and lock operators replaced 740 feet of hydraulic steel piping, avoiding a six-figure cost in taxpayer dollars to keep navigation moving on the Allegheny River.
  • Supporting Bank and Near-bank Stabilization and Habitat Using Dredged Sediment: Documenting Best Practices

    Abstract: In-water beneficial use of dredged sediment provides the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) the opportunity to increase beneficial use while controlling costs. Beneficial use projects in riverine environments include bank and near-bank placement, where sediments can protect against bank erosion and support habitat diversity. While bank and near-bank placement of navigation dredged sediment to support river-bank stabilization and habitat is currently practiced, documented examples are sparse. Documenting successful projects can support advancing the practice across USACE. In addition, documentation identifies data gaps required to develop engineering and ecosystem restoration guidance using navigation-dredged sediment. This report documents five USACE and international case studies that successfully applied these practices: Ephemeral Island Creation on the Upper Mississippi River; Gravel Island Creation on the Danube River; Gravel Bar Creation on the Tombigbee River; Wetland Habitat Restoration on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta; and Island and Wetland Creation on the Lower Columbia River Estuary. Increased bank and near-bank placement can have multiple benefits, including reduced dredge volumes that would otherwise increase as banks erode, improved sustainable dredged sediment management strategies, expanded ecosystem restoration opportunities, and improved flood risk management. Data collected from site monitoring can be applied to support development of USACE engineering and ecosystem restoration guidance.
  • USACE Vicksburg District announces archery hunts at Arkabutla Lake

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District announces the dates for its fall archery draw hunts at Arkabutla Lake.
  • You can go your own way: No evidence for social behavior based on kinship or familiarity in captive juvenile box turtles

    Abstract: Behavioral interactions between conspecific animals can be influenced by relatedness and familiarity. To test how kinship and familiarity influenced social behavior in juvenile Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina), 16 captive-born individuals were reared under semi-natural conditions in four equally sized groups, where each group comprised pairs of siblings and non-siblings. Using separation distance between pairs of turtles in rearing enclosures as a measure of gregariousness, we found no evidence suggesting siblings more frequently interacted with one another compared to non-relatives over the first five months of life. Average pair separation distance decreased during this time but may have been due to turtles aggregating around resources like heat and moist retreat areas as colder temperatures approached. At eight months old, we again measured repeated separation distances between unique pair combinations and similarly found no support for associations being influenced by kinship. Agonistic interactions between individuals were never observed. Based on our results, group housing and rearing of juvenile box turtles did not appear to negatively impact their welfare. Unlike findings for other taxa, our results suggest strategically housing groups of juvenile T. carolina to maintain social stability may not be an important husbandry consideration when planning releases of captive-reared individuals for conservation purposes.
  • USACE Engineering With Nature program recognized with international award

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering With Nature (EWN) program was recently recognized by the U.K. Environment Agency.
  • MKARNS Nav Notice SWL 22-37 Intermittent Delays - Locks 8, 13 & 4

    MKARNS - Mariners are advised that intermittent delays lasting up to four hours may be experienced, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the locks shown below for the dates specified.
  • Missouri River Basin drought conditions persist

    While the Missouri River basin has seen improved runoff for two consecutive months, it is not enough to overcome the long-term drought persisting in much of the basin. July runoff in the Missouri River basin above Sioux City, Iowa was 3.2 million acre-feet, which is 98% of average and 0.7 MAF more than was forecast last month. This has led to an annual runoff forecast of 20.6 MAF, which is 80% of average and 0.6 MAF higher than last month’s forecast.