Pomme de Terre Crissy Lake Project Update

The Stevens County Board of Commissioners were given an update of the Pomme de Terre Crissy Lake Project at their Tuesday meeting by Pomme de Terre River Association Watershed Coordinator Sophia Maruska. She recapped the March 6 public meeting where 50 attendees from the public heard Crissy Dam referred to as the second barrier to fish passage in the entire Minnesota river basin. The engineers for the project are seeking public comment on the project, which hopes to replace the dam with a rock arch rapids.

Most of the public comment was in favor of the option that kept the water level close to the current levels, an option especially favored by many residents of Riverview Drive. Maruska said there were 39 comments on the project on the website, plus a few emails and letters. She also presented the Board with a revised project option, which took some of the concerns of the public into account. The revised plan, she noted, would leave the channel between 80 and 100 feet wide, enough for several kayakers and canoeists, would improve the view for campers at Pomme de Terre Park, and keep a fishing hole by the parking lot/dog park area.

Commissioner Donny Wohlers expressed concern that the indicated green space would be quickly overrun with cattails. Maruska responded that the park is maintained by the City of Morris and there is funding available from other agencies to maintain cattails and the like. A similar project in Pelican Rapids started with invasives on the shoreline and ultimately created new green space when the rock arch rapids were put in. The project is being funded by Minnesota Lottery dollars, and as such the State Legislature has the final review of the project. A second public meeting has not been set yet, but Maruska will make a presentation of the project to the Morris City Council next Monday.