Photo By Patrick Moes | A team of biologists conduct a fish and mussel relocation project on the Red River of...... read more read more
HORACE, North Dakota – Building a flood risk management system is challenging. Building one that incorporates a 30-mile diversion, 22 miles of embankments, multiple highway and railroad bridges, three gated structures [the Wild Rice River Structure, the Diversion Inlet Structure and the Red River Structure], two states, and two aqueduct structures is daunting but currently on pace to be completed in 2027.
While the project will ultimately help to protect nearly 260,000 people and 70 square miles of infrastructure within the greater Fargo, North Dakota / Moorhead, Minnesota Metropolitan Area, building it does create some environmental concerns that are being addressed by the St. Paul District.
Derek Ingvalson, St. Paul District biologist and Fargo Moorhead Metro Area project environmental manager, said the mitigation efforts completed thus far, or in the process of being completed, are the largest in the district’s history. He said the team has primarily focused on forest, wetland and aquatic mitigation.
“There is a lot of value within these resources,” said Ingvalson. “The reason that we go through all of the efforts and complete mitigation is to try and maintain the integrity within the human environment. We know that a project of this size will have some impacts. Many of the organisms and habitats effected by building this project provide us with a tremendous amount of benefit whether people realize it or not. “
Ingvalson said some of the benefits of these natural resources help with carbon sequestration, air and water filtration and even recreation. “Our goal with all of the mitigation efforts is to replace those lost benefits while we also reduce the flood risk to the communities,” he said.
In an effort to continue mitigation efforts within the great Fargo / Moorhead Metro Area, a team of teams worked together to relocate fish and mussels from a cutoff area of the Red River of the North. Ingvalson said the weeklong relocation effort in early September could not have been accomplished without partners with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, North Dakota Game and Fish and North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. In all, the team caught and relocated 2,048 fish from 32 species and 4,723 mussels from 10 species. “These numbers greatly exceeded my expectations,” said Ingvalson, as he thanked all of the agencies for their participation in the relocation efforts.
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2025 13:41 |
| Story ID: | 547994 |
| Location: | HORACE, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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