Restoration to Revitalize: Pool 18 and the Mississippi

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, has released a draft feasibility report for the Pool 18 Forestry Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project. This project represents a critical step forward for the federally authorized Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program. It is a major ecological restoration effort to revitalize over 900 acres of floodplain forests and wetlands along the Upper Mississippi River, near the towns of New Boston, Keithsburg and Oquawka, Illinois.

“Historically, the Iowa River Delta and Blackhawk and Johnson islands supported robust and diverse forest communities. For instance, the Iowa River Delta once held the largest population of Kentucky coffee tree in the state of Iowa,” said Steve Acuff, a natural resources specialist for the Regional Planning and Environmental Division at Rock Island. “However, human development, and extreme weather and flooding events have fundamentally altered how the river system operates and its ability to maintain and recruit healthy floodplain forests.”

The project team has identified three critical environmental threats: • Prolonged Flooding: Increased frequency and duration of high-water events are drowning out native trees. • Invasive Species: Aggressive, non-native vegetation is rapidly outcompeting native plants. • Understory Degradation: A lack of natural regeneration is threatening the long-term survival of the forest.

To combat these threats, the restoration team has established three core mission objectives: restoring forest diversity, increasing seasonal wetland areas, and revitalizing the forest understory. The proposed plan outlines a highly targeted, multi-tiered engineering and forestry strategy designed to bring lasting resilience to 909 acres of federally owned, state-managed land.

To accomplish these goals, the tentatively selected plan proposes four key restoration techniques.

The first technique, timber stand improvement, uses selective species thinning, prescribed fire and targeted tree planting to encourage natural regeneration. The next, ridge and swale creation, reshapes the topography to mimic the natural, wave-like patterns of an undisturbed floodplain.

To further manage water on the landscape, pothole scraping creates isolated depressions that trap water after seasonal floods, establishing permanent pools that serve as critical habitat for amphibians and reptiles. Finally, non-forestry planting introduces diverse aquatic and emergent vegetation, providing immediate forage and nesting cover for pollinators and local wildlife.

“The project is designed to improve various floodplain habitat that support local wildlife. Floodplain forest improvements will benefit a wide array of species, including neotropical migratory birds, waterfowl, and fur bearing mammals, while more targeted measures like pothole wetland improvements and native vegetation plantings will provide refuge for herptile species such as the state-endangered copperbelly and state-threatened diamondback water snakes with known populations in the area,” explained Acuff.

For the local community, restoring this dynamic ecosystem ensures that Pool 18 will remain a premier public destination for outdoor recreation, including camping, fishing, boating, and hunting for generations to come.

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