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Title:	Upper Mississippi River System Environmental Management Program Definite Project Report with Integrated Environmental Assessment : Ted Shanks Conservation Area Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project, Pool 24, Mississippi River, Miles 284.5 Through 288.5, Pike County, Missouri
Authors:	United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. St. Louis District.
Keywords:	Restoration ecology Environmental protection Environmental management Wetlands Mississippi River
Publisher:	United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. St. Louis District.
Abstract:	The Ted Shanks Conservation Area Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project is located on the right descending bank of the Mississippi River, adjacent to the town of Ashburn, MO in Pike County. The conservation area lies in Pool 24 between Upper Mississippi River Miles 286 and 293.0. The 6,700 acre conservation area is made up of bottomland hardwood timber, open marsh, mixed shrub/scrub/emergent wetlands, row crops, oxbow lakes and sloughs, old fields and upland woods. The project area consists of approximately 2,900 acres of TSCA and associated islands in the Upper Mississippi Conservation Area, RM 284.5 to 288.5. Water features include Horseshoe Lake, Rainbow Lake, Flag Lake, Three Mile Ditch, Reiniking Slough, Deadman’s Slough and various others. These lands are managed under a cooperative agreement between the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Management of these project lands has been assumed by the Missouri Department of Conservation under a successive cooperative agreement. In addition to the construction and operation of Lock and Dam 24, many other ecosystem changes have occurred at TSCA including construction of berms along the Mississippi and Salt Rivers, clearing of forests and wet prairie for agricultural production, management of the area as a wetland impoundment, and altered vegetation composition and distribution. Following the prolonged Mississippi River flood in 1993, much of the bottomland hardwood and floodplain forest at TSCA died and reed canary grass invaded these areas. A major contributor to this tree death was the system of undersized water control structures through the berms that could not efficiently drain the area. The combined ecosystem changes and inefficient drainage capacity have created a great need for restoration and enhancement in the project area. The goal of this HREP is to restore and enhance the quality and diversity of wetland habitat in the project area. The following objectives and enhancement measures were considered in detail to achieve the project goal: Objective 1. Improve water level management • No action • Raise/restore berms • Create management units • Replace/build new water control structures • Construct a spillway • Construct a pump station Objective 2. Increase quantity of bottomland and floodplain forest • No action • Setback/degrade berm • Plant bottomland hardwoods • Plant floodplain forest Objective 3. Improve aquatic habitat • No Action • Dredge deep holes in Horseshoe Lake • Construct riffles in Deadman’s Slough • Construct hardpoints in Deadman’s Slough • Relocate the mouth of Deadman’s Slough. The benefits of the project enhancement features were evaluated using the Wildlife Habitat Appraisal Guide and Aquatic Habitat Appraisal Guide. Ecosystem benefits and project costs were then put through Cost Effectiveness and Incremental Cost Analysis using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources program Plan. This incremental analysis identified which combinations of enhancement features and their associated environmental outputs (Habitat Units) would be both cost efficient and cost effective. This analysis also showed the changes in cost for increasing levels of environmental output. Alternative 13, the recommended plan for the TSCA Project consists of multiple features to restore and enhance the interior and Deadman’s Slough by implementation of the following project measures: BM16: Create three management units and set back the exterior berm along the Salt River at two locations to the alignment suggested by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Build four segments of low elevation berms (15,000 linear ft. total) and three 6 ft. diameter water control structures to divide the area into three parts and allow for targeted habitat management. Build 8,600 ft. of berm to setback the existing berm reducing the overall berm length by 5,500 ft. Degrade portions of the old berm, reconnecting 280 acres of floodplain. C1: Enlarge the external water drainage capacity Install three water control structures each with two 8 ft. × 6 ft. openings D1: Increase the capacity to drain water from Nose Slough. Replace two water control structures with structures with 4 ft. × 4 ft. openings G1: Plant hard mast producing trees in Horseshoe North East Unit: Plant 27 acres of trees at elevations > 453.5 ft. NGVD H1: Plant hard mast producing trees in Horseshoe North West Unit: Plant 24 acres of trees at elevations > 453.5 ft. NGVD M2: Install a new diesel pump station along the Mississippi River. Install two 30,000 gpm pumps to meet target water levels in < 30 day O3: Construct rock riffles and hard points and relocate the mouth of Deadman’s Slough. Construct eight hard points and two rock riffles. P1: Plant floodplain forest trees in Horseshoe NE. Plant 171 acres of trees between 452 - 453.49 ft. NGVD Q1: Plant floodplain forest trees in Horseshoe NW. Plant 125 acres of trees between 452 - 453.49 ft. NGVD. The recommended plan is a best buy alternative that yields 1,527 net AAHUs at a cost of $1,498.59 per habitat unit. It best meets the study objectives and has sponsor support from the USFWS and the MDC. Implementation of the recommended plan would increase the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat and meet the life requisites for a large variety of native floodplain species. Planting mast-producing hardwood trees and floodplain forest would improve the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat by reintroducing mast, providing an additional seed source, and providing wind and sun protection for water bodies. Enhancing water level management capability would provide more moist soil habitat, greater vegetation diversity, and a reliable food supply. Enhancing aquatic resources would increase habitat complexity and provide spawning and rearing opportunities for a wide variety of aquatic life. The project outputs are consistent with the refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan (2004) goals and objectives and support the overall goals and objectives of the Upper Mississippi River System-Environmental Management Program, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and the Partners in Flight Program.
Description:	Definite Project Report with Integrated Environmental Assessment
Rights:	Approved for Public Release; Distribution is Unlimited
URI:	https://hdl.handle.net/11681/36696
Size:	824 pages / 93.57 MB
Types of Materials:	PDF
Appears in Collections:	Environmental Documents