River ecology after the lock closure: return to a more natural river?

Nearly a year ago, in an unusual move, the lock at Upper Saint Anthony Falls was closed to boat and barge traffic. The closure was the result of an act of Congress, designed in part to slow the spread of invasive carp up the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, to rivers and lakes beyond.

But inevitably, the closure, and the end of dredging the area for a shipping channel, is having an impact on the area’s ecology. What is the impact on the shape of the river bottom? How are invertebrates and mussels impacted?  What is the impact on water chemistry.

The Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership, Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, and the St. Anthony Falls Lab and River Life Program at the University of Minnesota have partnered to investigate those impacts.

Join the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership along with a panel of experts to hear about data collection efforts and consider the kinds of impacts we may see on our river environment.