(Radio Iowa) – Work is underway to remove an Iowa River dam on the western edge of Steamboat Rock just upriver from the popular Hardin County Pine Ridge park. D-N-R River Programs Coordinator Nate Hoogeveen says they’re coordinating with the county and the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the structure. “One of the reasons for that is flathead catfish don’t really go upstream of the dam, and we’re going to open up about 24 miles of the Iowa River to that species,” he says.

Hoogeveen says the one-point-three million dollar project has other benefits. “It’ll improve fishing, mussel issues, and then very importantly, we’ll take the campground at Pine Ridge Park, which is now in the two-year floodplain and it’ll actually be in the five-year floodplain,” he says. Hoogeveen says the project includes bank restoration and other features that should make it easier for people to float down the river.

“I think we’ll see people starting upstream at the park more frequently and floating through some of the structures that we’re building in the water. I think because there’s an easy way to walk up and down you’ll see like local kids with inner tubes going through this area,” he says. “There’s no big rapids, but there will be some kind of ripply stuff that will be, you know, some low key fun.” The improved access should draw more anglers.

“I think we’ll see more fishing in the area too, up and down the river because we’re intentionally creating some deep-water habitat, as well as more accessible banks to get down and fish by the river,” Hoogeveen says. He says that should help out the Steamboat Rock economy. Hoogeveen says the work is underway, but it could take two years because of the silt and sand built up behind the dam.

“So we’re trying to move that out gradually instead of it all going at once. So, we’re taking about a quarter of the dam out at a time. We’re trying to make sure that’s a controlled release of the sediments, so that they don’t harm any aquatic life in the river downstream,” Hoogeveen says. He says the speed of the process depends on the flow levels of the water in the river. Hooveveen says the dam had at one time been used as some sort of mill, but was eventually covered over in cement.