Boaters and Mississippi River observers may notice a handful of new temporary islands and sandbars in the river near Grafton.
The Army Corps of Engineers recently completed regular dredging of the river. Instead of dumping sediment near the banks of the river as usual, the corps opted to create ephemeral land near where the Mississippi and Illinois rivers converge.
In turn, islands and sandbars will provide a potential new environment for wildlife on the river and another recreation spot until the natural flows of the river washes them away.
“We certainly have opportunities to enhance the environment,” said Lou Dell’Orco, chief of operations for the St. Louis District of the Army Corps. “We try to do a little bit of everything.”
Congress mandates the Army Corps maintain a 9-foot-deep and 300-foot-wide channel to ensure shipping can flow up and down the river with ease. The St. Louis corridor of the river is an essential one for commerce, particularly in the agricultural industry.
While dredging can do harm to rivers, according to some environmentalists, local advocates say creating these temporary islands and sandbars is a better use for the sediment collected during dredging.
“Reusing that instead of putting it on the shoreline, where it actually may be problematic to fish, turtles species and mussel beds, for instance, I believe it’s a good practice,” said Christine Favilla, the Three Rivers Project coordinator for the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club.
The islands could provide habitats for shorebirds. The sandbars could provide nesting for species like the Interior Least Tern.
It will also be good for the Piping Plover, an endangered species, said Mike Morrow, the mayor of Grafton and former district engineer for the Army Corps.
“We're getting more and more environmentally friendly with the work that we're doing on the river,” Morrow said.
Beyond the potential environmental benefits, the temporary sandbars and islands near Grafton are already providing another recreational location for boaters, Morrow said.
“I’m not a boater per se,” Morrow said. “But the people that have recreational boats, they seem to like to go out and nose into the sandbars. They get out and sit on lawn chairs and enjoy a cold drink. It’s kind of like their own little private beach.”
The Army Corps and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources have been doing something similar just down the river closer to Alton.
In that area, the agency is creating four permanent islands — Moonlight, Canvasback, Steamboat and Powrie — that were named by elementary students from Alton and Jerseyville in a contest.
As part of a $7.2 million restoration program, the corps and the state department are using sediment dredged from the bottom of the river. The newly created islands range from 3.9 to 48 acres in size.
The project, set to be complete in 2025, also aims to enhance natural river habitats and restore land washed away by the river after construction.
