Island building and habitat restoration have significant environmental benefits, improving aquatic and land-based ecosystems. Working under LS Marine alongside Ramsey County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Saint Paul District, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Brennan built up islands at Pigs Eye Lake in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The project's master plan features seven islands, sand beaches, marsh habitat, and land plantings. We utilized dredged material from the Mississippi River in an environmentally beneficial way to build the islands. Here's how it happened and why it works!
Project Overview:
Island Building and Habitat Restoration at Pigs Eye Lake
Environmental Benefits of Island Building:
- Improves aquatic habitat – Creates depth and habitat diversity. Increases the acreage of aquatic vegetation. Incorporates structural habitat features to promote fisheries.
- Improves the quantity and quality of habitat for migratory bird species – Creating suitable habitats for migratory birds, such as dabbling ducks, in this case, within Pigs Eye Lake.
- Maintains and enhances the quantity of shoreline habitat – Protects existing floodplain forest and marsh habitat along the shoreline from wind and wave erosion.
Funding for this project was made available through the Corps of Engineers Civil Works program and Ramsey County via the Conservation Partners Legacy Grant Program and the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.
About J.F. Brennan Company
J.F. Brennan Company, Inc. (Brennan) is a fourth-generation, family-owned marine construction firm specializing in environmental remediation, dam construction, commercial dive, harbor management, and submarine cable services. Working closely with public and private owners of water-based infrastructure since 1919, Brennan operates nationwide throughout coastal and inland waterways.
