Steamboat Island is a federally owned island in the Mississippi River, near Princeton. The Corps, along with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, aim to restore its floodplain forest and aquatic habitat.
Julie Millhollin is the project manager. She says first on the list is rebuilding the head of the island, which has eroded.
"We will also be doing excavation of backwater channels for overwintering habitats, and also creating topographic diversity, so we're changing the ground elevation out there, we will be planting trees, and then we'll also be planting scrub-shrub and pollinator habitat."
The entire project will take place over several years. It began with a feasibility study in 2018.
Millhollin says it'll be worth the wait.
"We're excited to get this going, and I know it'll take a couple years to get completed, but once it does, it'll be a great source for people to go out, go fishing, and see birds."
The federally funded project is expected to cost around $33.6 million dollars.
