John Henderson, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program manager, grew up in a small town in east central Illinois, 2-3 hours south of Chicago. He grew up fishing in Lake Shelbyville, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir.
Henderson began his journey with the St. Paul District in 2017 when he moved to Fargo, North Dakota, to work on the Fargo-Moorhead flood risk management project; one of the largest infrastructure projects in the nation. “I also got to do a lot of great fishing in the Detroit Lakes [Minnesota] area,” Henderson said.
When the project was paused in 2017, Henderson started in the district office in St. Paul, Minnesota. While working in the district office, he got out on the Mississippi River and fell in love with the driftless area. “Something I was not used to was the bluffs — since I came from corn country,” Henderson added.
He approached the resident engineer in Winona about a job opportunity. That office had a lot of people retiring so he was able to get a position there. “I joined a group of very experienced engineers and learned a lot,” Henderson said. “Most importantly, I learned about the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program, or UMRR, and got engrained in that program. It was the first time I learned about all the unique projects that were completed down the river in the last 40 years.”
UMRR has been around since 1986, and through the program over 60 projects have been completed. “We’ve been able to restore a lot of acres through this program and being a part of that is a unique and rewarding experience,” Henderson said. “A lot of people don’t know this job exists, so I find myself very fortunate.” Growing up hunting and fishing, Henderson said he had conservation in mind but didn’t realize he could make a career out of it. “Honestly, it’s one of the coolest things ever,” he said.
Henderson started as a quality assurance representative in 2018 on the Conway Lake habitat rehabilitation and enhancement project and assisted with the Harpers Slough island repairs, which are both in Pool 9 on the Mississippi River. He progressed into a project engineer position which focused on the design and field analysis side of things and then became a contracting officer representative, which he said “is like the field sergeant. You help guide how and where we build features.”
In 2022, Henderson had the opportunity to join the project management team in the district. “In project management, I got a feel for working collaboratively and more in the weeds with agency partners to develop these projects — where we go and what we need to do,” he said. “We’re choosing the best thing for what the river needs right now.”
In the last year, Henderson stepped into the UMRR program manager position. As the program manager, he communicates the district’s needs internally and externally through the larger UMRR program, which covers St. Paul, Rock Island and St. Louis districts.
“We’re working with our external agency partners to develop great projects, but that depends on funding,” Henderson said. He works to develop budgets, determining what engineers, biologists, foresters and other positions need — funding and resource-wise — when they need it, and communicates that to the larger program. “Ultimately what the funding boils down to, is what the river needs. It can be complicated because the river is a large system with a lot of needs,” he said.
“Where I really got into the weeds and got my boots dirty was with the McGregor Lake restoration project, which we started in 2020,” Henderson said. “We’re wrapping up the McGregor project this year [2026], and I have served as the quality assurance representative, contracting officer representative, project manager and now the program manager. I’ve really seen this project from cradle to grave.”
There are UMRR projects in the St. Paul District going on in the Minnesota River and in pools 4, 9 and 10. “We have a lot of great people and agencies on a lot of different restoration projects targeting different species and restoration priorities up and down the river,” Henderson said.
Right now, Henderson said he is heavily involved in the Lower Pool 10 habitat rehabilitation and enhancement project. This $40 million investment is one of the largest UMRR projects. Stage 1 began in 2024 and will be wrapping up in the next couple years. There are two other stages covering three full river miles.
“We’re really able to make a pool-wide impact and restore those islands to somewhat what they used to be,” he said. The project will include bank stabilization, recreating islands and habitat dredging for overwintering fish habitat. “This is another testament to how great a program UMRR is and how much of a systemic change we can make through the program with the funding we’re receiving.”
There are over 100 technical professionals — engineers, biologists, lawyers — experts in their fields, that are contributing to the Lower Pool 10 project. “What I like the most about my job is the people that I get to work with. No matter their background, they are passionate about working on the river and the work we do,” Henderson said. “When we get together to solve a problem, we may not have the same end results of priorities in mind, but we all want to make sure the river is what’s benefitting the most; that we’re doing the best we can.”
“At the end of the day, I know we’re doing great work, and I enjoy the people I’m doing it with so it makes coming to work fun,” Henderson concluded.
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| Date Taken: |
08.11.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
08.11.2026 12:41 |
| Story ID: |
572121 |
| Location: |
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, US |
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18 |
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This work, One step at a time: Henderson’s journey with the St. Paul District, by Melanie Peterson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
